Daridorexant to probe orexin's role in human emotion, motivation, and cognitive processing

Orexin neuropeptides are crucial regulators of sleep-wakefulness, emotion, motivation, and stress responses. These systems are frequently dysregulated in mental health disorders like depression and anxiety. Current treatments often have side effects or limited efficacy, highlighting the need for novel therapeutic targets. Modulating the orexin system, particularly through dual orexin receptor antagonism, offers a promising avenue to address these complex neurological and psychiatric conditions by influencing fundamental brain functions beyond just sleep. Understanding its precise role in human cognition and affect is key to developing targeted interventions.

This double-blind, placebo-controlled study will randomly assign healthy volunteers to receive a single oral dose of either daridorexant 50 mg or placebo. Participants will then complete a battery of behavioral and cognitive tasks. These tasks are designed to assess specific domains including emotional processing, aversive learning, and executive function. The primary objective is to clarify the contribution of the orexin system to these human emotional and cognitive processes, providing insights relevant to conditions such as depression and anxiety. The study design focuses on acute effects in a controlled setting.