Brain Regulation of Emotions in People With Depression and Anhedonia
Completed
Conditions studied: Major Depressive Disorder
In brief
This study will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine how the brain regulates emotions in healthy people and in patients who have major depression and anhedonia (loss of feeling of pleasure in things that normally give pleasure). Healthy normal volunteers and patients between 18 and 50 years of age with major depression, with or without significant anhedonia, are eligible for this study. Candidates will be screened with a psychiatric interview, a physical examination that will include blood and urine samples, and an electrocardiogram, and a questionnaire about their emotions. Participants will perform a monetary reward task while lying in an MRI scanner. The task is similar to playing a computer video game with the possibility of winning cash. The amount of cash is largely dependent on the subject's performance. The accumulated amount of cash earned in a session will fluctuate depending on the subject's continuing performance level. That is, during a single session, a subject could lose money earned early in the session if his or her performance later in the session is not as good as earlier. MRI pictures will be taken during performance of the task. MRI uses a magnetic field and radio waves to produce images of body tissues and organs. The patient lies on a table that is moved into the scanner (a narrow cylinder) and wears earplugs to muffle loud knocking and thumping sounds that occur during the scanning process. The procedure will last about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT00059579
- Run by
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
- People needed
- 163
- Starts
- 2003-04-24
- Expected to finish
- 2010-11-12
- Last updated by the study team
- 2017-07-02
Who can join
Age: 18 and older, up to 50. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.
You may not qualify if…
- Medical conditions or concomitant medications that are likely to influence cerebral blood flow or neurological function including cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine and neurological diseases;
- History of psychosis, current mania and substance dependence;
- Exposure to psychiatric medications in the past 4 weeks;
- History of repeated self-mutilation or homicidal attempts, current active suicidal / homicidal ideations;
- Current or recent (within past six weeks) illicit drug use or heavy alcohol consumption (more than 2 six-packs of beer or equivalent alcoholic beverages per week);
- Pathological gamblers as defined by DSM-IV.
Where it is running
- National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike — Bethesda, Maryland, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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