Plain-English translation of NCT05778591 on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗ ·
Phase 2 — Testing in a bigger group (up to a few hundred people) to see if the treatment actually works and is still safe.
This trial is testing whether buprenorphine, a medication that is already used to treat opioid addiction and depression at higher doses, might help people with schizophrenia who struggle with social motivation at a much lower dose. Many people with schizophrenia find it hard to want to spend time with others or feel anxiety about social situations—problems that current medications don't adequately address. This study will see if this medication can help by making people feel more interested in connecting with others and less worried about negative social experiences.
Low social motivation is one of the most disabling symptoms of schizophrenia, and right now there are no medications that effectively treat it. Early research in healthy volunteers suggests this medication might boost the desire for social connection, so researchers want to see if it could help people with schizophrenia.
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You would attend three sessions total: one two-hour preparatory visit and two six-hour laboratory days. On the laboratory days, you would receive either the medication or a placebo (a dummy pill with no active ingredient), and researchers would ask you to complete tasks and tests that measure how motivated you feel to engage socially. You'll do this twice—once with each treatment—so researchers can compare how you respond to each one. The whole study involves completing questionnaires and computer-based social motivation tasks during the time the medication is most active in your body.
AI-generated summary from trial data · Jun 14, 2026 · Not medical advice
United States