Actively Recruiting
Fluoxetine on Emotional Experience (FLEX) Study
Led by University of Oxford · Updated on 2026-02-20
80
Participants Needed
1
Research Sites
65 weeks
Total Duration
On this page
Sponsors
U
University of Oxford
Lead Sponsor
W
Wellcome Trust
Collaborating Sponsor
AI-Summary
What this Trial Is About
The goal of this clinical medicine study is to investigate how does antidepressant fluoxetine modulate anger processing in healthy young people . The main questions it aims is to answer are: 1. How does fluoxetine affect responses to anger-related stimuli such as words, faces, and autobiographical recall? 2. How does fluoxetine influence responses during frustration induction in frustrative non-reward and threat paradigms? 3. Does the effect manifest in physiological markers, including heart rate variability and facial expressions? Researchers will compare fluoxetine to a placebo to see if drug fluoxetine affects anger processing. Participants will: Take 20mg fluoxetine or a placebo every day for 7 days. Visit the university site for questionnaire and tasks assessments. Heart rate variability and facial expressions will be recorded in some of the tasks.
CONDITIONS
Official Title
Fluoxetine on Emotional Experience (FLEX) Study
Who Can Participate
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if you...
- Be aged 18-24 years (inclusive)
- Be resident in the UK for the duration of the study
- Have normal or corrected to normal vision
- Willing and able to give informed consent for participation
- Sufficiently fluent in English to understand and complete the study
You will not qualify if you...
- Current or past diagnosis of any psychiatric disorder
- First degree relative with a diagnosis of mania
- Heavy smoker or vaper (more than 10 cigarettes per day, or over 2 mL e-liquid, or more than 15mg/day from a nicotine patch)
- Heavy caffeine use (more than 4 cups/cans of coffee or energy drinks per day)
- Heavy alcohol use (more than 14 standard drinks per week)
- Current or recent use of psychoactive substances in the last 3 months
- Severely underweight or overweight unsuitable for the study as judged by medical advisor
- Known allergy or contraindication to fluoxetine
- Pregnancy, breastfeeding, or planning pregnancy within 3 months
- Unable to consume gelatine
- Past or ongoing health issues that may affect safety or study integrity, including seizures, heart rhythm problems, renal or liver disease, glaucoma, diabetes, bleeding or clotting disorders
- Diagnosis of significant neurological condition such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, or traumatic brain injury
- Diagnosis of neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism spectrum disorder or ADHD
- Use of medications that may interfere or interact with fluoxetine, including MAOIs, serotonin-affecting drugs, anticoagulants, anti-inflammatory medications, or those affecting heart rhythm
- Participation in any drug or medication study in the last 3 months
- Participation in any study involving similar tasks in the last 6 months
- Any other findings that may affect scientific integrity or participant safety as judged by the investigators
AI-Screening
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Trial Site Locations
Total: 1 location
1
Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, OX3 7JX
Actively Recruiting
Research Team
C
Catherine Harmer, PhD
CONTACT
Y
Ye Wo, MSc
CONTACT
How is the study designed?
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Masking
TRIPLE
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Model
PARALLEL
Primary Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Number of Arms
2
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