Recruiting

Caffeine-RACCaffeine's Impact on Adenosine-Dopamine Receptor Interactions in Healthy Individuals

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What is being tested

Caffeine (200 mg)

+ Placebo

Drug
Who is being recruted

From 18 to 45 Years
See all eligibility criteria
How is the trial designed

Basic Science Study

Placebo-ControlledPhase 4
Interventional
Study Start: May 2023
See protocol details

Summary

Principal SponsorHsiao-Ying Wey
Study ContactHsiao-Ying Wey, PhD
Last updated: January 28, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Study start date: May 17, 2023

Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.

This study explores the interaction between two types of brain receptors, adenosine 2A receptors (A2AR) and dopamine D2 receptors (D2R), and how these interactions affect learning and behavior. Researchers are interested in understanding how caffeine, which blocks A2AR, influences these receptor interactions and affects cognitive processes like reinforcement learning. The study involves twelve healthy young adults and aims to deepen the understanding of how these molecular interactions influence behaviors associated with dopamine-related conditions, such as psychosis. Participants will undergo two different conditions: one with caffeine and one with a placebo. Before these conditions, they must avoid caffeine, alcohol, and drugs for six days and maintain a regular sleep schedule. On the seventh day, they receive either caffeine or a placebo before undergoing brain scans using PET and fMRI technology. These scans help measure the availability of D2/D3 receptors and brain activity during tasks involving reinforcement learning. The study hypothesizes that caffeine will enhance brain activity related to rewards and that this increased activity will correspond with changes in receptor availability.

Official TitleMeasure Striatal Adenosine-dopamine Receptors Interactions: from Molecule to Behaviors
NCT06763172
Principal SponsorHsiao-Ying Wey
Study ContactHsiao-Ying Wey, PhD
Last updated: January 28, 2026
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Protocol

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
Design Details

12 patients to be enrolled

Total number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.

Basic Science Study

Basic science studies help researchers understand how the body works or how a disease develops. They don't test treatments, but they build the foundation for future therapies.



Eligibility

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.
Criteria

Any sex

Biological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.

From 18 to 45 Years

Range of ages for which participants are eligible to join.

Healthy volunteers allowed

If individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria: * Age ≥ 18 and ≤ 45. * Habitual caffeine intake ≥ 100 mg and ≤ 450 mg daily. * Non-smokers. * Clinically healthy. * Have normal vision or corrected to normal vision. Exclusion Criteria: * Pregnant or lactating women. * Women using hormonal contraceptives. * BMI \< 18.5 or \> 29.9 * Sleep disturbance or extreme chronotype. * Urine test positive on one of the following substances: benzoylecgonine, morphine, d-Methamphetamine, d-Amphetamine, Benzodiazepines, Secobarbital, Methadone, Buprenorphine Glucuronide, Nortriptyline, MDMA, Oxycodone, PCP, Propoxyphene, and Cannabis/THC * Diagnosis of depression, anxiety, psychosis, or neurologic disorders in the last 5 years. * Heart or cardiovascular diseases. * Diabetes or other metabolic diseases. * Under chronic medications, for instance, painkiller and steroid. * Allergy to lactose (main ingredient of blank control dose) * Incapable to operate the tasks or comprehend the study information in English. General MRI and PET safety exclusion criteria for all subjects: * Metallic foreign bodies such as cardiac pacemakers, perfusion pumps, aneurysm clips, metallic tattoos anywhere on the body, tattoos near the eye. * Pre-existing medical conditions including a likelihood of developing seizures or claustrophobic reactions * Inability to lie flat on scanner bed for about 90 min as assessed by physical examination and medical history (e.g. arthritis) * Recent exposure to radiation (i.e., PET from other research studies) that, when combined with this study, would be above the allowable limits * Pregnancy or breastfeeding: A negative serum or urine pregnancy test is required on the day of the PET procedure * Body weight of \> 300 lbs (weight limit of the MRI scanner table)

Study Plan

Find out more about all the medication administered in this study, their detailed description and what they involve.
Treatment Groups
Study Objectives

2 intervention groups are designated in this study

50% chance of being blinded to the placebo group

Treatment Groups

Group I

Experimental
Caffeine tablet, 200mg

Group II

Placebo
Lactose tablet

Study Objectives

Primary Objectives

Secondary Objectives

Study Centers

These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.

This study has 1 location

Recruiting

Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging

Charlestown, United StatesOpen Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging in Google Maps
Recruiting
One Study Center
Caffeine-RAC | Caffeine's Impact on Adenosine-Dopamine Receptor Interactions in Healthy Individuals | PatLynk