Serotonin effects on brain function and their relationship to relapse when stopping antidepressants

Predicting Relapse After Discontinuing Antidepressants using acute tryptophan depletion and Magnetoencephalography

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN15397197

Enrollment

Registered

2026-05-12

Start date

2026-04-13

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-05-25

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Depression Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Interventions

This is a basic science study involving procedures with human participants. Participants in the study will visit UCL for two study days prior to tapering their antidepressant medication. On these days

the research protocol does not prescribe, modify, or evaluate medication dosing. Participants will be free to adjust the tapering speed in consultation with their GP or prescribing doctor. Randomisat

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to 64 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Have had at least two episodes of depression 2. Be aged 18 to 64 (older people are excluded as different assessments for depression are used in older age groups) 3. Be taking a serotonergic antidepressant medication (citalopram 20 mg or more, escitalopram 10 mg or more, sertraline 100 mg or more, fluoxetine 20 mg or more, paroxetine 20 mg or more, clomipramine 50 mg or more or mirtazapine 15 mg or more) that was started to treat an episode of depression 4. Be in stable remission for the past 6 weeks, with a Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) total score less than 7 5. Have satisfactory treatment adherence to medication 6. Be intent on stopping their antidepressant medication

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Meet internationally agreed (ICD-10) criteria for a depressive illness 2. Have a baseline PHQ-9 score greater than or equal to 10 3. Have bipolar disorder, psychotic illness, dementia, alcohol or substance use disorder or a terminal illness 4. Are not able to complete self-administered questionnaires in English 5. Are pregnant or intend to get pregnant within the next 6 months 6. Fail the pre-test online behavioural task assessment 7. Meet any MEG exclusion criteria including: 7.1. Epilepsy 7.2. Insulin-dependent diabetes 7.3. Magnetic parts in the upper body or head (such as piercings, dental wire, permanent eye-liner) 7.4. Are otherwise not able to tolerate or not suitable for MEG

Countries

England, United Kingdom

Contacts

Public ContactMichaela Poppe

m.poppe@ucl.ac.uk+44 (0)20 7679 9311

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: May 30, 2026