Recruiting
Losartan and Emotional Learning
This study explores the effects of single-dose losartan (50mg) versus placebo on emotional processing in healthy volunteers.
ClinicalTrials.gov IDNCT06628154
PhaseEARLY_PHASE1
Enrollment60
SponsorUniversity of Oxford
Age18 Years
SexALL
Conditions studied
Emotional Processing
About this study
This study explores the effects of single-dose losartan (50mg) versus placebo on emotional processing in healthy volunteers.
Interventions
- Drug: Losartan potassium 50mg — Single dose losartan (50 mg, weight-adjusted), encapsulated identically to placebo
- Other: Placebo — Single tablet encapsulated identically to losartan
Primary outcomes
- Reinforcement Learning (1 hour after capsule intake)
Eligibility information
Inclusion Criteria:
* Willing and able to provide informed consent
* Aged 18-50 years
* Score of or below 45 on the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS; Rizvi et al., 2015)
* Sufficient written and spoken English skills to understand what the study involves, and to complete the questionnaires
* Non- or light-smoker (5 cigarettes a day)
Exclusion Criteria:
* Past or present DSM-5 axis-I diagnosis (based on SCID results at screening) other than anxiety disorder, dysthymia or unipolar depression
* First-degree family member with severe psychiatric illness
* CNS-medication last 6 weeks (including as part of another study)
* Current blood pressure or other heart medication (especially aliskiren or beta blockers)
* Diagnosis of intravascular fluid depletion or dehydration
* History of angioedema
* Impaired kidney function (based on self-report)
* Very low blood pressure (defined as repeated (at least three consecutive measurements) measures of blood pressure under standardised conditions where either the systolic or the diastolic blood pressure or both are below 90/50 mmHg (in accordance with established standard definitions: DOI 10.1186/s12887-016-0633-7))
* Lifetime history of epilepsy or other neurological disease (e.g. autism, ADHD)
* Lifetime history of systemic infection, or clinically significant hepatic, cardiac, obstructive respiratory, renal, cerebrovascular, metabolic, endocrine or pulmonary disease or disorder which, in the opinion of the investigator, may either put the participants at risk because of participation in the study, or may influence the result of the study, or the participant's ability to participate in the study
* Significant loss of hearing that is not corrected with a hearing device
* Women: pregnancy, breast-feeding
Study locations
- Warneford Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX37JX United Kingdom
Before you participate: Varda Clinical is an independent discovery tool, not the study sponsor or a medical provider. Eligibility can only be determined by the official study team. Discuss potential risks and benefits with a qualified healthcare professional.
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov. Record last refreshed by Varda Clinical: 2026-09-27.