Reward, Emotion, Learning and Ketamine (RELAKS) Study
We are looking for volunteers to improve our understanding on how ketamine can influence the way people learn from rewards and punishments.
The study involves 1 phone screening interview and 4 in-person visits (3 times to Warneford hospital, one time to John Radcliffe Hospital) over 2-3 weeks, each lasting up to 2-3 hours. In all, your participation will involve: medical and psychiatric health screening (including blood and urine tests and providing saliva samples to measure a stress hormone), drug administration, questionnaires and computer tasks and an MRI scan, that will involve administering electrical pain which will be calibrated to your personal pain threshold.
MRI is a type of brain scan that allows us to see how the brain is organised and performs tasks like decision making. The scan is safe and does not involve any needles or injections. A licensed drug called ketamine affects the levels of glutamate, a chemical messenger in the brain. Glutamate plays a role in learning and memory so we are interested in understanding how ketamine can affect these.
Who are we looking for? Fluent English-speaking men or women aged between 18-45 years, who do not suffer from any psychiatric conditions, who are not using any psychotropic medication and are not pregnant. You will be asked questions about your medical history to check your suitability to participate in the study.
If you are interested and would like more information please contact RELAKS Study team at the Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford on relaks@psych.ox.ac.uk. You will be compensated for your time.
Central University Research Ethics Committee number: R73654/RE001