Testing the antidepressant properties of the peptide ARA290 in a human neuropsychological model of drug action.

Research summary

Healthy volunteers were randomized to ARA-290 or placebo, with cognitive and neural testing one week later. Some neural and attentional measures changed, but there was no improvement in mood or affective symptoms. The authors concluded that the direction and strength of the effects did not unequivocally support an antidepressant-like profile.

Limitations and interpretation

This was a healthy-volunteer neuropsychological experiment, not a treatment trial in people with depression. It does not establish antidepressant efficacy. The publication explicitly identifies NCT02070783. Null mood results and mixed emotional-processing findings should remain visible.

Source

Cerit H, Veer IM, Dahan A, et al. Testing the antidepressant properties of the peptide ARA290 in a human neuropsychological model of drug action. European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. 2015 Dec. DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2015.09.005. PMID: 26431906.

Original PubMed record. Publisher DOI. Sources reviewed October 15, 2026. This page is an educational summary, not a reproduction of the full publication.

Connected compound

ARA-290 / cibinetide monograph. Educational information only; no treatment or personal-use recommendations.