Neuroimaging the Expectancy Versus Pharmacotherapy Effect of Adderall on Cognitive Performance

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2018-12-18
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

The purpose of this balanced-placebo design study is to pilot a larger study to further explore the current evidence that stimulant medications are not cognitive enhancers, despite this rampant belief in young adults. While the lack of cognitive enhancement from stimulant medication has been documented in prior research, this study is the first to utilize neuroimaging technology to examine brain regions activated during neurocognitive tasks when participants believe they have been administered stimulant medication or placebo.

• Phase: Phase 4
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Details

• Lead Sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Treatments: Adderall

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age (18-24)

• College student with at least average IQ

• Willingness to standardize caffeine intake to 100 mg on day of study

Exclusion Criteria:

• Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

• First degree relative with ADHD

• Unwillingness to comply with caffeine specifications

• Regular use of Adderall

• Pregnant/breastfeeding

• History of substance use disorders

• Illicit stimulant use within the last year

• Contraindications to stimulants (i.e., tics, Tourette's, cardiac disease, hypertension)

• Uncontrolled medical illness

• Active contagious infection