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Xia Y, Wehrli J, Abivardi A, Hostiuc M, Kleim B, Bach DR. Attenuating human fear memory retention with minocycline: a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:28. [PMID: 38233395 PMCID: PMC10794420 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-024-02732-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Pavlovian fear conditioning is widely used as a pre-clinical model to investigate methods for prevention and treatment of anxiety and stress-related disorders. In this model, fear memory consolidation is thought to require synaptic remodeling, which is induced by signaling cascades involving matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9). Here we investigated the effect of the tetracycline antibiotic minocycline, an inhibitor of MMP-9, on fear memory retention. We conducted a pre-registered, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in N = 105 healthy humans (N = 70 female), using a configural fear conditioning paradigm. We administered a single dose of minocycline before configural fear memory acquisition and assessed fear memory retention seven days later in a recall test. To index memory retention, we pre-registered fear-potentially startle (FPS) as our primary outcome, and pupil dilation as the secondary outcome. As control indices of memory acquisition, we analyzed skin conductance responses (SCR) and pupil dilation. We observed attenuated retention of configural fear memory in individuals treated with minocycline compared to placebo, as measured by our primary outcome. In contrast, minocycline did not affect fear memory acquisition or declarative contingency memory. Our findings provide in-vivo evidence for the inhibition of fear memory consolidation by minocycline. This could motivate further research into primary prevention, and given the short uptake time of minocycline, potentially also secondary prevention of PTSD after trauma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanfang Xia
- Computational Psychiatry Research, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Transdisciplinary Research Area Life and Health, Hertz Chair for Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
| | - Jelena Wehrli
- Computational Psychiatry Research, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Aslan Abivardi
- Computational Psychiatry Research, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, FMRIB, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Madalina Hostiuc
- Computational Psychiatry Research, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Birgit Kleim
- Computational Psychiatry Research, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Dominik R Bach
- Computational Psychiatry Research, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Transdisciplinary Research Area Life and Health, Hertz Chair for Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging & Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, London, UK.
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