A Neuroimaging Study of Open-label Placebo in Depressed Adolescents
Stopped early · Not applicable · Has a placebo group
Conditions studied: Depression
In brief
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is the current leading cause of disability worldwide and adolescence is an especially vulnerable period for the onset of depression. Non-pharmacologic approaches are particularly attractive as treatment of adolescent depression due to the elevated risks of side effects related to the use of psychotropic drugs during development. A recent meta-analysis detected a positive and significant effect of non-deceptive placebos (open-label placebo, OLP) for a series of clinical conditions, including adult depression. To the investigators' knowledge, no studies of OLP have been conducted in depressed adolescents to date, although placebo response rates in adolescent depression are especially high, accounting for over 80% of the actual response to antidepressant treatment. The study's main objective is to estimate the effectiveness and understand the mechanism of OLP in depressed adolescents. The central hypothesis is that the mechanism by which OLP exerts its action in adolescent depression is by forming a positive expectation, which activates endogenous mu-opioid receptor (MOR)-mediated neurotransmission in a network of regions implicated in emotion, stress regulation, and the pathophysiology of MDD, namely, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) - striato - amygdalo - thalamic network. The hypothesis has been formulated on the basis of published research and preliminary data. The investigators will test the hypothesis by performing structural and functional neuroimaging in 60 untreated 13-18 year-old adolescents with mild to moderate depression. The proposed research is significant, because it is expected to elucidate the mechanism of action of OLP and advance the understanding of the neural underpinnings of positive expectations in adolescent depression.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT04201106
- Run by
- University of California, San Francisco
- People needed
- 16
- Starts
- 2020-05-14
- Expected to finish
- 2022-04-28
- Last updated by the study team
- 2026-07-29
Who can join
Age: 13 and older, up to 18. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.
You may qualify if…
- The investigators will include adolescents with mild to moderate depression who meet the following criteria.
- Unmedicated 13-18 year-old adolescents of both sexes with mild to moderate depression, i.e. depressive symptoms corresponding to RADS-2 t-scores of 61-69, under the care of a mental health professional or a primary care doctor.
- Fluency in English
You may not qualify if…
- Subjects younger or older than 13-18 years old.
- Psychiatric comorbidities other than anxiety disorder, severe suicidal ideation
- MRI contraindications (ferromagnetic objects on or inside the body, e.g. braces) and pregnancy.
- Potential subjects with an inability or unwillingness to give written informed assent whose legal guardian/representative are unable or unwilling to give written informed consent will be excluded and not allowed to enroll in the study.
Where it is running
- UCSF — San Francisco, California, United States
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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