Investigating the Acute Effects of THC on Functional Brain Systems (FIX)

UMC Utrecht

Status and phase

Completed

Phase 1

Conditions

Tetrahydrocannabinol

Endocannabinoids

Reward

Memory

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Treatments

Drug: Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT00628706

THC-phMRI-01

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to determine whether THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, affects functional brain systems underlying memory and reward.

Full description

Cannabis is by far the most frequently used illicit drug worldwide and has significant effects on memory. Further, cannabis has an addictive potential. These effects are mediated by an action of THC, the main psychoactive ingredient of cannabis, on cannabinoid CB1 receptors. These receptors are particularly highly expressed in brain regions involved in memory and reward. Therefore, in this study we will investigate the acute effects of THC on functional brain systems underlying memory and reward. We will visualize these effects using the latest non-invasive imaging technique: pharmacological MRI (phMRI).

Enrollment

12 estimated patients

Sex

Male

Ages

18 to 45 years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

History of mild cannabis use for at least one year (<1/week and ≥ 4/year)
History without psychotic experiences after cannabis use
Age between 18 and 45 years
Right-handedness, assessed with the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory
Written informed consent of the subject

Exclusion criteria

Any clinical significant abnormality of any clinical laboratory test, including urinary drug screening
Impaired physical health evaluated by medical history, physical (including neurological) examination and screening laboratory tests
History of clinically significant psychiatric or neurological illness
History of clinically significant psychiatric or neurological illness in first- or second-degree relatives
History of alcohol and/or drug abuse (DSM-IV criteria)
Body Mass Index (B.M.I.) <18 kg/m2 or >28 kg/m2
Paranoid ideation or psychoticism on SCL-90
Any subject who received any investigational medication within 90 days prior to the start of the study or who is scheduled to receive an investigational drug
The use of any medication within three weeks prior to the start of the study, except for paracetamol
Positive HIV or Hepatitis B/C test
Blood donation within 3 months before the start of the study
Claustrophobia
Metal objects in or around the body (braces, pacemaker, metal fragments)