Fludrocortisone and Information Processing in Healthy Volunteers
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2013-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Stimulating the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) may restore a disturbed balance as seen in
depression. In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial the investigators will
test the effects of a single dose (500mg) fludrocortisone, an MR-agonist, on the information
processing in healthy female volunteers (N = 2x20).
The investigators want to investigate whether the acute administration of fludrocortisone
(FC) in healthy females enhances the appraisal of emotional information related to
depression, hypothesizing that:
- FC relative to placebo selectively improves the recognition of happy and fearful faces:
resulting in more correct responses and faster RTs.
- FC induces a bias towards more positive self-description and an improved memory for
positive information.
Female participants were selected because the haplotype MRI180V is related to depression
vulnerability in women, not in men. If the effects of fludrocortisone are comparable to the
effects of antidepressants on the same tests and the same population, it might be a first
indication that fludrocortisone may function as an antidepressant.