The effect of hydrocortisone on fear information processing
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The effect of hydrocortisone on fear information processing
IRAS ID
164252
Contact name
Andrea Reinecke
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Clinical Trials and Research Governance, University of Oxford
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 31 days
Research summary
Hydrocortisone has been licensed for over 20 years and is commonly used to treat severe allergic reactions, skin problems, or adrenal illnesses. Recent However, recent research has shown that the glucocorticoid hydrocortisonedrug also improves learning and memory (deQuervain et al., 1998). Due to these memory-enhancing effects, the drug might have the potential to improve psychological treatments for anxiety disorders. Preliminary support for this comes from a study showing that a single dose of hydrocortisone given before cognitive-behaviour therapy for specific phobia significantly enhances the clinical effects of treatment (deQuervain et al., 2011). However, it remains to be clarified what the basic cognitive mechanisms underlying such an augmentation effect are. We hypothesise that hydrocortisone improves the processing of the fear stimulus and reduces attentional avoidance, which is thought to be crucial for cognitive-behaviour therapy to reduce fear.
In a double-blind between-groups design, 40 healthy volunteers will be randomised to a group receiving a single dose of hydrocortisone versus placebo. Participants will be phobic of spiders, as hydrocortisone has recently been shown to improve cognitive-behaviour therapy for this form of anxiety, and as threat processing can be measured particularly reliably in specific phobia. We will measure the effects of probing glucocorticoid functionthe drug on performance in emotional cognitive tasksthreat processing, which can be measured using reaction-time based tasks with fear-related (spiders) and neutral (e.g. butterflies) stimuli. In addition, we will assess personality traits at baseline to identify potential predictors predictof learning performance. The results from this study will help us understand the basic mechanisms of learning related to probing glucocorticoid brain function.ultimately help us to understand the mechanisms underlying the augmenting effects of this drug on cognitive-behaviour therapy and will ultimately help us to improve treatments for anxiety disorders and their application.REC name
East Midlands - Leicester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/EM/1205
Date of REC Opinion
21 Oct 2014
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion