Behavioral Processes Underlying Reward Processing in Depression

Sponsor

Affective Neuroscience Laboratory (Other)

Overall Status

Completed

CT.gov ID

NCT00205933

Collaborator

Massachusetts General Hospital (Other)

Enrollment

Locations

Duration (Months)

Patients Per Site

Patients Per Site Per Month

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

The purpose of this project is to use behavioral techniques to investigate emotional processing in subjects with major depression and healthy comparison subjects.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Major Depressive Disorder Bipolar Disorder

Detailed Description

A promising strategy for parsing the heterogeneity of Major Depressive Disorder is to identify phenotypes characterized by reliable functional abnormalities. Anhedonia, the lack of reactivity to pleasurable stimuli, is considered a trait marker for depression. Using an objective behavioral task this project aims to investigate hedonic capacity in subjects meeting a DSM-IV diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder.

Study Design

Study Type:

Observational

Actual Enrollment :

78 participants

Observational Model:

Cohort

Time Perspective:

Cross-Sectional

Official Title:

Behavioral Processes Underlying Reward Processing in Depression

Study Start Date :

Apr 1, 2004

Actual Study Completion Date :

Jun 1, 2007

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

18 Years to 64 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

Depressed participants:

Right-handed
DSM-IV diagnosis of MDD
Score of at least 17 on the 21-item HAM-D scale
Absence of any psychotropic medications for at least 2 weeks (6 months for dopaminergic drugs (including methylphenidate), 6 weeks for fluoxetine, and 4 weeks for neuroleptics and benzodiazepines because of longer half-lives.)
No current or past history of MDD with psychotic features
Absence of any other Axis I or Axis II diagnosis (Including bipolar disorder and current or lifetime history of alcohol or substance abuse or dependence.) Particularly, subjects with a history of alcoholism and substance abuse will be excluded, since dopaminergic alterations have been reported in these conditions. Exclusion of patients with comorbid Axis I or Axis II diagnoses will be necessary as evidence exists of alteration in dopamine receptor density in detached personality and social phobia. The alteration of dopamine in the brain may in turn alter behavior.
Absence of significant medical conditions
Absence of ECT in the previous 6 months
Ability to provide informed consent/authorization

Bipolar participants:

Both genders and all ethnic origins
Age between 18 and 64
Right-handed
DSM-IV diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder I or II
Score of at least 17 on the 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D)
Absence of any psychotropic medications for at least 2 weeks (6 months for dopaminergic drugs (including methylphenidate), 6 weeks for fluoxetine, and 4 weeks for neuroleptics and benzodiazepines because of longer half-lives.)
No current or past history of MDD with psychotic features
Absence of any other Axis I or Axis II diagnosis (Including current or lifetime history of alcohol or substance abuse or dependence.) Particularly, subjects with a history of alcoholism and substance abuse will be excluded.
Absence of significant medical conditions
Absence of ECT in the previous 6 months
Ability to provide informed consent/authorization

Control Participants:

Right-handed
Absence of medical, neurological, and psychiatric illness (including alcohol and substance abuse), as assessed by the SCID
Absence of any medications for at least 2 weeks
Informed consent/authorization

Exclusion Criteria:

Left-handed/ambidextrous
Evidence of neurological illness
Current alcohol or substance abuse
Serious suicide or homicide risk

Contacts and Locations

Locations

	Site	City	State	Country	Postal Code
1	The Depression Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital	Boston	Massachusetts	United States	02114
2	Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Harvard University	Cambridge	Massachusetts	United States	02138