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TerminatedNCT04231643Updated May 10, 2024

Effects of Cannabis on Cognition and Endocannabinoid Levels in Bipolar Disorder Patients and Healthy Volunteers

An Early Phase 1 interventional study of Dronabinol and Epidiolex in Bipolar Disorder, sponsored by University of California, San Diego. Terminated at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 50 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-05-10.

Sponsored by University of California, San Diego · Early Phase 1, Interventional, and Basic science

Why this study was terminated
Budgetary limitations prevented us from completing our planned sample size.

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was Nov 2023, 2 years 10 months ago, and no results have been posted to the registry.
Phase
Early Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
19
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 50 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Cannabis use is associated with younger age at onset of bipolar disorder, poor outcome, and more frequent manic episodes, but the effects of cannabis on cognition are less clear. Contrary to reports among non-psychiatric patients, cannabis may improve cognition among people with bipolar disorder. Nevertheless, no study to date has systematically tested the acute effects of cannabis on cognition in bipolar disorder. Therefore, the investigators propose to determine the effects of oral cannabinoid administration on cognitive domains relevant to bipolar disorder, e.g., arousal, decision making, cognitive control, inhibition, and temporal perception (sense of timing). In addition, the investigators will evaluate different doses of the two major components of cannabis, cannabidiol and ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol, and compare them to placebo on these neurocognitive measures. The investigators will also test the effects of acute exposure to cannabinoids on cerebrospinal levels of anandamide and homovanillic acid - markers of endocannabinoid and dopamine activity in the brain, respectively. These studies will provide information that effectively bridges the fields of addiction and general psychiatry, informing treatment development for co-morbid substance abuse and psychiatric disorders.

02

Conditions studied

  • Bipolar Disorder

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Keywords

  • cannabidiol
  • THC
03

In context

Bipolar Disorder

1,601 studies on the registry are indexed under Bipolar Disorder; 254 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 19 is below the median of 64 across 1,223 interventional studies indexed under Bipolar Disorder.

Browse Bipolar Disorder studies →

Lead sponsor

University of California, San Diego is the lead sponsor of 958 studies on the registry; 191 are open to participants now.

Of its 110 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 70 (64%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 50 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  1. For subjects in BD group, DSM-5 criteria for Bipolar Disorder as determined by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID).
  2. Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) \< 12.
  3. Infrequent cannabis use as defined by a history of cannabis use and current use no more than 4 times per month.
  4. Willing to abstain from cannabis use for at least two days prior to the experimental visit.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) score > 10.
  2. Suicidality. Exposure to cannabis does not lead to depression but it may be associated with suicidal thoughts and attempts. Therefore, the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) subscale measuring suicidal ideation ("I wished I were dead". "I wanted to hurt myself") will be completed. Should any of these items be answered affirmatively, e.g., the subject has endorsed these items for at least 1-2 days in the last week, the subject will not be enrolled in the study.
  3. The Substance Abuse Module of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for DSM-5 will be administered to exclude individuals with current substance use disorders.
  4. Clinically significant or unstable medical condition. Subjects will undergo a medical evaluation (H\&P, toxicology screening, and for females of childbearing potential, pregnancy testing (utilizing a human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) urine test). Individuals with significant cardiovascular disease (e.g., angina, myocardial infarction or stroke), hepatic or renal disease, uncontrolled hypertension, and chronic pulmonary disease (e.g., asthma, COPD), will be excluded. With respect to cardiovascular and pulmonary status, a clinician will screen participants with a tool developed for this purpose (Appendix 3 Cardiopulmonary Screen). Hepatic and renal disease will be evaluated with liver and renal function laboratory tests. Females who are pregnant or lactating will be excluded.
  5. Infections - evidence of skin infection at lumbar puncture site.
  6. To avoid confounding of cognitive testing, a neurological disorder such as seizures, stroke, Parkinson's disease, dementia, or a history of head injury with loss of consciousness for at least 15 minutes will be excluded.
  7. Unwilling to refrain from driving or operate heavy machinery for four hours after consuming study medication. This criterion is consistent with current expert recommendations on driving following the use of cannabis.
  8. Additionally, because the hBPM paradigm requires participants to be ambulatory, those who cannot ambulate independently (e.g., require a wheelchair) or those who have a motor disease (e.g., multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy) will be excluded.
  9. A previous adverse reaction to cannabinoids will be cause for exclusion as will a historical diagnosis of cannabis use disorder.
  10. Positive result on Draeger 5000 test indicating recent cannabis use.
  11. Unwillingness to prevent pregnancy during the cannabinoid administration portion of the study (using birth control in female participants of child-bearing age) Acceptable methods of birth control are: oral contraceptive pills, diaphragm, condom, progestin implant, intrauterine contraceptive device, sterilization, etc.
  12. Any active opportunistic infection or malignant condition requiring acute treatment.
05

Study design

Phase
Early Phase 1
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
19 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Bipolar Disorder

    adults with bipolar disorder

    Drug: Dronabinol · Drug: Epidiolex · Drug: Placebos

  • Active comparator
    Healthy Volunteers

    adults with no psychiatric disease

    Drug: Dronabinol · Drug: Epidiolex · Drug: Placebos

Interventions

  • DrugDronabinol

    one-time oral administration of 5 mg dronabinol

  • DrugEpidiolex

    one-time oral administration of 600 mg Epidiolex

  • DrugPlacebos

    one-time oral administration of placebo

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Score on Iowa Gambling Task

    This is an experimental measure and not a scale with specific anchor points. Lower scores reflect increased risk-taking

    Time frame: one day

  2. Score on Progressive Ratio Test

    This is an experimental measure and not a scale with specific anchor points. Higher scores indicate increased willingness to work for a reward

    Time frame: one day

  3. Scores on Probabilistic Learning Task

    This is an experimental measure and not a scale with specific anchor points. Measures decision-making strategies such as win-stay, lose-shift.

    Time frame: one day

  4. Scores on Continuous Performance Task

    This is an experimental measure and not a scale with specific anchor points. Higher scores reflect better attention and ability to discriminate important information from unimportant information

    Time frame: one day

  5. Percent Prepulse Inhibition (PPI)

    This is a physiological measure and not a scale with specific anchor points. Higher percent PPI reflects better sensorimotor gating

    Time frame: one day

  6. motor activity in the human Behavioral Pattern Monitor

    This is an experimental measure and not a scale with specific anchor points. Subjects' behavior in an open field (a room filled with novel objects) is quantified over a 15-minute period via amount of motor activity as measured by a wearable accelerometer. Increased motor activity reflects increased tendency to engage in exploratory behavior.

    Time frame: one day

  7. object interactions in the human Behavioral Pattern Monitor

    This is an experimental measure and not a scale with specific anchor points. Subjects' behavior in an open field (a room filled with novel objects) is quantified over a 15-minute period via video ratings that quantify number of interactions with novel objects. Increased object interactions reflects increased novelty-seeking behavior.

    Time frame: one day

  8. cerebrospinal fluid levels of anandamide

    Reflects increased availability of the endogenous cannabinoid anandamide in the brain

    Time frame: one day

07

Study locations

1 site
  • UC San Diego Medical Center
    San Diego, California 92103, United States
08

References and documents

Study documents

  • Informed consent form · Apr 27, 2023

Documents are hosted by the registry — open the source record to download them.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on May 10, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04231643
Lead sponsor
University of California, San Diego
Collaborators
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Responsible party
William Perry (Professor in Residence of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jan 18, 2020
Start date
Sep 1, 2021
Primary completion
Nov 28, 2023
Completion
Nov 28, 2023
Last update
May 10, 2024

Study contacts

William Perry, PhD
principal investigator · UCSD

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is terminated, as verified in May 2024. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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