Ketamine and Propofol NeuroImaging Study

This study is looking at how the commonly used anesthetic medicines, ketamine and propofol, affect your brain activity, brain connections, memory, and pain. Researchers will give you these medicines alone and in combination, and then take pictures of your brain (MRI) and measure brain waves (EEG). They want to see how well you remember things and how you rate pain after receiving these drugs. The study is looking for 60 adults between 18 and 59 years old who do not have certain health conditions like chronic pain or sleep apnea. The goal is to understand how these drugs work in the brain for memory and pain.

Study design
This interventional study plans to enroll 60 participants. It compares the effects of ketamine and propofol, both alone and in combination, on brain activity and memory.
What's involved
You would attend 8 visits, each spaced at least one week apart. Four visits involve receiving drugs and having EEG or MRI scans, lasting 3 hours. The other four visits are for memory testing the day after a drug session, lasting 1 hour.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Memory performance is measured up to 12-36 hours after drug administration, and pain ratings are taken immediately after each experimental condition.

AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.

NCT07294092

Ketamine and Propofol NeuroImaging

Recruiting
EARLY_PHASE1Ages 18–59InterventionalBasic science
Keith M Vogt
~60 participants
Updated 2026-05-19 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:PropofolKetaminePeripheral Nerve Stimulation

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Explicit Memory Performance, comparing single-drug to drug-combination condition
Measured over Visits 2, 4, 6, and 8. Visits spaced at least 1 week apart, are 1 hour in length, and are 12-36 hours after the preceding visit (1, 3, 5, and 7).
+1 more outcome measured
Anesthesia
Pain

NCT07294092

Where you'd take part

This study runs at 1 site. They're the same protocol — you choose where, and that choice sets who your contact draft is addressed to.

  • University of Pittsburgh

    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniastudy coordinator listed

    Recruiting

Sites open and close at different times, so the status above is per site — it can differ from the study's overall status.

  • Keith M Vogt, MD, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · University of Pittsburgh

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

Adults 18-59 years of age, who:

Exclusion

have a valid email address and valid phone number throughout the study
free from any non-MRI compatible implants
are pregnant or attempting to conceive
body mass index (BMI) \> 35
significant memory impairment or hearing loss
sleep apnea
chronic pain or frequently taking pain medication
chronic medical conditions requiring treatment (hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol)
neurologic disease, including seizures and tremor
psychiatric diagnoses, including anxiety, depression, panic, or PTSD
a history of any of these medical conditions: abnormal heartbeats (cardiac conduction abnormality or arrhythmia), liver or kidney disease, or significant lung disease
severe claustrophobia or intolerance of an MRI
have metal implants or non-removable metal piercings
having a history of adverse reaction to ketamine or propofol
daily alcohol or heavy alcohol use; history of alcohol abuse
current daily smoker
regular or recent marijuana use (including prescribed/medical marijuana)
illicit drug use, i.e., street drugs
regularly taking: antiepileptics, antidepressants, anti-psychotics, antihistamines, anti-anxiety medication, stimulants, or sleep-aids
  • Explicit Memory Performance, comparing single-drug to drug-combination conditionVisits 2, 4, 6, and 8. Visits spaced at least 1 week apart, are 1 hour in length, and are 12-36 hours after the preceding visit (1, 3, 5, and 7).

    Recognition memory testing, using the Remember-Know procedure, in which subjects indicate whether they recognize previously experienced experimental items among novel items (not previously in the experiment). This allows calculation of interdependent measures of recollection \& familiarity using the signal detection statistic, d'. d' is calculated as the cumulative Gaussian distribution of false positive responses subtracted from the cumulative Gaussian distribution of correctly identified previously-experienced items. d' is on a (theoretically infinite) scale of standard deviation units, with negative values representing performance worse than chance guessing and positive values representing stand deviations of performance above chance.

  • Pain intensity and unpleasantness ratings, comparing single-drug to drug-combination conditionVisits 1, 3, 5, and 7: immediately following each experimental condition. These visits are 3 hours in length and spaced at least 1 week apart.

    Numerical rating scale (0-10) pain score difference, comparing the single-drug condition to the steady-state dose of the drug-combination condition. Higher pain scores indicate more pain; a positive difference between pain scores during the single-drug condition minus the value during the steady-state dose of the combination-drug condition indicates pain reduction (a better outcome).