The Effect of Cortisol Administration on Neural Correlates of Emotion in Depression

Status

Completed

Phases

Early Phase 1

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02837432

Enrollment

192

Registered

2016-07-19

Start date

2016-07-31

Completion date

2020-11-15

Last updated

2021-10-22

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

Conditions

Depression

Keywords

Depression, Cortisol, Sadness, Genetics, Stress

Brief summary

There is good evidence to suggest that the pathological version of sadness that people with Major Depression experience could be caused by the failure of the hormone cortisol to properly inhibit sadness-related brain activity in the subgenual cingulate cortex. This project investigates if the subgenual cingulate cortex has become insensitive to cortisol in patients with depression and tests for variants of the cortisol receptor genes that could predispose individuals to develop cortisol insensitivity.

Interventions

DRUGHydrocortisone acetate

DRUGPlacebo

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

CROSSOVER

Primary purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

21 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

https://redcap.stanford.edu/surveys/?s=3F7WCENPND Inclusion Criteria: * Healthy Participants must have no Axis 1 mental disorder * Participants with depression must meet minimum severity levels (Hamilton \>7) * All participants must weight less than 280 pounds for the purposes of MRI scanning

Exclusion criteria

In order to protect against risk associated with taking Hydrocortisone, all participants must not have any of the following: * Psychotropic medications * Recent surgery * Endocrine disorders * Liver disease * Kidney disease * Thyroid disorder * History of malaria * Tuberculosis * Osteoporosis * Glaucoma/cataracts * Chronic expressed infections (herpes --including ocular herpes, HIV, etc.) * History of congestive heart failure * History of recurring seizures * Stomach Ulcers * Comorbid psychosis * Current use of illicit drugs * High Blood pressure In order to protect against risks associated with MRI scanning participants must not be/have any of the following: * \>280 lbs * In-dwelling ferrous metals * Left Handed * Abnormal Hearing * Claustrophobic * Head injury with loss of consciousness

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Sadness-induced subgenual cingulate activity as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging.	2 hours

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026