Effects of Caffeine on Anxiety, Emotional Processing, Approach-avoidance Behavior, and Interoception in Panic Disorder

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Trial end date: 2022-12-31
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

The current study is a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized controlled study using a cross-over design, including participants with Panic disorder and healthy controls.

The study's primary aim is to investigate the effects of caffeine (vs placebo) on self-reported anxiety and its impact on emotional reactivity and goal-directed behavior in individuals with Panic disorder (vs healthy controls). Emotional reactivity will be measured with self-reported emotions and skin conductance responses. Caffeine-induced effects on goal-directed behavior will be assessed using an approach-avoidance conflict paradigm and an effort-allocation task. The occurrence of panic attacks and panic-related symptoms will also be measured. Furthermore, the link between a genotype of ADORA2A (rs5751876 T/T) previously associated with caffeine-induced anxiety, and the anxiogenic effects of caffeine will also be explored. In addition, caffeine-induced changes in attention to interoceptive stimuli (bodily sensation such as pulse and respiration) and anxiety elicited by attention to interoceptive stimuli will be explored. A secondary aim is to examine the potential caffeine-induced effects and the impact of genetic variation in healthy participants (caffeine vs placebo).

• Phase: N/A
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Uppsala University
• Treatments: Caffeine

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Panic disorder group: Primary diagnosis of panic disorder.

Healthy control group: No current or history of psychiatric disorders.

All participants (Panic disorder and healthy): Weekly caffeine consumption ≤ 300 mg.

Exclusion Criteria:

History of severe psychiatric disorder (e.g. schizophrenia). Somatic or neurological conditions (e.g. hypertension and heart condition). Ongoing treatment with psychotropic medication or treatment with psychotropic medication which has been discontinued within 2 months. Other ongoing treatments that may confound the results. Current drug or alcohol abuse/dependency. Habitual nicotine use. Uncorrected visual or hearing impairment. Pregnancy.