The Influence of Amitriptyline on Learning in a Visual Discrimination Task

Dieter Kunz, MD

Status: Completed

Conditions: Healthy Subjects

Treatments: Drug: Placebo; Drug: Amitriptyline

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01566825

AVDT

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to determine whether 75 mg amitriptyline affect the sleep dependent consolidation of procedural memory (visual discrimination task, Karni-Sagi-paradigm).

Full description

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is considered critical to the consolidation of procedural memory - the memory of skills and habits. Many antidepressants strongly suppress REM sleep, however, and procedural memory consolidation has been shown to be impaired in depressed patients on antidepressant therapy. As a result, it is important to determine whether antidepressive therapy can lead to amnestic impairment. We thus investigate the effects of the anticholinergic antidepressant amitriptyline on sleep-dependent memory consolidation in 32 healthy men in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized parallel-group study.

Enrollment: 32 patients

Sex: Male

Ages: 18 to 40 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• male gender
• age 18 through 40 years
• ability to communicate effectively in German

Exclusion criteria

• shift work within the past 24 months
• any sleep disorder as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index
• irregular sleep/wake patterns or extreme chronotype as measured by the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire
• history of any neurologic or psychiatric disorders
• regular medication intake within the past four weeks
• contraindications for amitriptyline
• abnormal electrocardiogram (ECG)

Trial design

32 participants in 2 patient groups, including a placebo group

Amitriptyline

Active Comparator group

Treatment:

Drug: Amitriptyline

white 8 mm Lichtenstein®

Placebo Comparator group

Treatment:

Drug: Placebo