The Effects of Ketamine and Guanfacine on Working Memory in Healthy Subjects

Summary

The purpose of the study is 1. To establish the feasibility of fMRI studies of the interaction of guanfacine and ketamine. 2. To explore the possibility that guanfacine can ameliorate the negative effects of ketamine on task-related prefrontal activation. 3. To assess the strength of any interaction between guanfacine and ketamine.

Timeline

Start

2008-08

Primary completion

2014-12

Completion

2014-12

Publications

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• Background Swartz BE, Kovalik E, Thomas K, Torgersen D, Mandelkern MA. The effects of an alpha-2 adrenergic agonist, guanfacine, on rCBF in human cortex in normal controls and subjects with focal epilepsy. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2000 Sep;23(3):263-75. doi: 10.1016/S0893-133X(00)00101-9.
• Background Szabo B. Imidazoline antihypertensive drugs: a critical review on their mechanism of action. Pharmacol Ther. 2002 Jan;93(1):1-35. doi: 10.1016/s0163-7258(01)00170-x.
• Background Wang M, Ramos BP, Paspalas CD, Shu Y, Simen A, Duque A, Vijayraghavan S, Brennan A, Dudley A, Nou E, Mazer JA, McCormick DA, Arnsten AF. Alpha2A-adrenoceptors strengthen working memory networks by inhibiting cAMP-HCN channel signaling in prefrontal cortex. Cell. 2007 Apr 20;129(2):397-410. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2007.03.015.
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Drugs

Indications

No indication recorded.