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Cytokine-Associated Depression and Social Pain

Sponsor
University of California, Los Angeles (Other)
Overall Status
Completed
CT.gov ID
NCT00949845
Collaborator
(none)
1
Location

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

Recent research has demonstrated a relationship between depression and immune system activity, specifically proinflammatory cytokine activity. Although experimentally-induced immune activation leads to increases in depressed mood, the neural correlates associated with these changes have remained largely unexplored. Based on relationships between cytokine activity, depression, and heightened physical and social pain sensitivity, I propose to investigate the effect of proinflammatory cytokine activation on the neural correlates of socially painful experience that may contribute to depression. Our previous work has shown that the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), typically associated with physical pain distress, also plays a role in the distressing feelings associated with social rejection or social loss. Moreover, recent pilot data has revealed that individuals with elevated levels of baseline proinflammatory cytokines report feeling more distressed and show more dACC activity during social rejection. To investigate the causal role that cytokines may play in the heightened social pain sensitivity that can contribute to depression, participants will be randomly assigned to receive either endotoxin (which increases proinflammatory cytokine activity) or placebo. Subsequently, participants will complete a neuroimaging study in which they will be rejected during an online ball-tossing game. We hypothesize that individuals exposed to endotoxin will report more social distress and depression following rejection and will show more dACC reactivity during rejection. The proposed study is the first to investigate the effect of systemic inflammation on neural reactivity related to social and affective processes that may increase the risk of depression.

Condition or Disease Intervention/Treatment Phase
Early Phase 1

Study Design

Study Type:
Interventional
Primary Purpose:
Basic Science
Official Title:
An fMRI Study of Cytokine-Associated Depression and Social Pain
Study Start Date :
Jan 1, 2007

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

    Eligibility Criteria

    Criteria

    Ages Eligible for Study:
    18 Years to 45 Years
    Sexes Eligible for Study:
    All
    Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
    Yes
    Inclusion Criteria:
    • right-handed
    Exclusion Criteria:
      1. BMI greater than 30,
      1. presence of physical health problems or medication use,
      1. evidence of an Axis I psychiatric disorder based on the SCID assessment,
      1. evidence of recreational drug use from a positive urine test,
      1. positive pregnancy test, if female,
      1. abnormalities on screening laboratory tests (blood cell count, liver function),
      1. claustrophobia,
      1. metal in body,
      1. history of allergies, autoimmune, liver, or other severe chronic diseases,
      1. current use of prescription medications,
      1. nightshift work or time zone shifts (> 3hrs) within the previous 6 weeks.

    Contacts and Locations

    Locations

    Site City State Country Postal Code
    1 UCLA General Clinical Research Center Los Angeles California United States 90095

    Sponsors and Collaborators

    • University of California, Los Angeles

    Investigators

    • Principal Investigator: Naomi I Eisenberger, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles

    Study Documents (Full-Text)

    None provided.

    More Information

    Publications

    None provided.
    Responsible Party:
    , ,
    ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
    NCT00949845
    Other Study ID Numbers:
    • Endotoxin
    First Posted:
    Jul 30, 2009
    Last Update Posted:
    Jul 30, 2009
    Last Verified:
    Jul 1, 2009
    Keywords provided by , ,
    Effect of Inflammatory challenge on depressed mood
    Effect of inflammatory challenge on social pain
    Additional relevant MeSH terms:
    Depression
    Depressive Disorder

    Study Results

    No Results Posted as of Jul 30, 2009