Skip to content

Computational Psychiatric Approach to Depression

Computational Psychiatric Approach for Prognosis of Medication-Resistant Depression

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04189939
Enrollment
128
Registered
2019-12-06
Start date
2020-03-09
Completion date
2023-07-10
Last updated
2024-08-06

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

Conditions

Depression, Treatment Resistant Depression

Keywords

ECT treatment, treatment-resistant depression, neural changes

Brief summary

The purpose of this research is to investigate how the brain changes in patients undergoing electroconvulsive (ECT) treatment for depression. Subjects will be invited to be in this study because (1) they are a patient about to receive ECT treatment for depression, or (2) they are a patient diagnosed with depression and do not qualify for ECT treatment, or (3) they are a healthy adult volunteer with no history of depression. All volunteers must be between the ages of 18-85. Participation in this research will involve three visits. Each visit will last about 3-4 hours. If the subject is a patient receiving ECT for depression the study team will schedule study visits to go along with patient treatment visits. If the subject is diagnosed with depression (not treatment-resistant depression) or are a healthy volunteer, their first visit will be scheduled at their convenience, followed by a second visit 1-3 months post visit one and a third visit 1-2 months post visit two, for a total of three research visits. Participation in this research will involve playing simple computer games while the subject's brain is scanned with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Additionally, the study team will assess symptoms of depression using questionnaires. Patients receiving ECT will not experience any changes to their standard of care ECT treatment plan. Healthy and non-treatment resistant depressed volunteers will not undergo ECT treatment.

Detailed description

The goal for this study will be to test the following overall hypotheses: (1) that adaptive decision-making processes are disrupted in patients with treatment-resistant depression, and (2) the neural and behavioral changes associated with treatment-resistant depression can be assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging paired with computationally constrained adaptive decision-making games. The investigators will use computational modeling of incentivized decision-making tasks, brain imaging (functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI), and standard clinical assessments, to characterize patients referred to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center for ECT. Characterization will occur over multiple visits to be aligned with the normal course of patient care. Data collected may be used in hypothesis driven analyses to: 1. classify treatment resistant depression versus healthy controls and non-treatment resistant depression 2. predictors of ECT treatment success versus failure 3. characterize brain and behavioral changes consistent with treatment success versus failure 4. predict who will need maintenance ECT therapy 5. determine what changes in decision-making behavior are apparent in patients who require ECT maintenance therapy versus those who do not.

Interventions

Behavioral tasks will be executed via a computer interface. Below, we provide an estimated timeline for each visit and subsequently provide detail for the relevant stages. Each participant's visit will last approximately 4-5 hours. Each visit will consist of the following tasks (in this order):

Sponsors

Wake Forest University Health Sciences
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 85 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

For patients: Inclusion Criteria: * Adult volunteers (ages 18-85) * Treatment-resistant depressed patients must meet criteria in standard-of-care evaluation for ECT treatment * Clinically depressed patients must meet criteria in standard-of-care evaluation for depression.

Exclusion criteria

* Individuals who cannot have MRI scanning * Individuals not able to provide written consent and verbal assent * Individuals not able to understand task instructions or consent documents * Women who are pregnant For healthy subject volunteers: Inclusion Criteria: * Healthy adult volunteers (ages 18-85)

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Functional Brain scanning - Neural activationBaselineneural activation measured during functional MRI

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Perceived Control of Internal States Scale (PCISS)Baseline, month 1, month 2The PCISS is an 18-item scale designed to measure respondents' perceptions of their ability to control their internal states and to moderate the impact of aversive events on their emotions, thoughts and physical well-being. Scores can range from 18 to 90, with high scores indicating higher levels of perceived control of internal states.
Montreal Cognitive AssessmentBaseline, month 1, month 2The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a widely used screening assessment for detecting cognitive impairment.MoCA scores range between 0 and 30. A score of 26 or over is considered to be normal, the lower number denotes worse outcomes.
Physical Risk Assessment InventoryBaseline, month 1, month 227 Items. Total score 0- 162, higher number denotes worse outcomes.
Patient Health Questionnaire-9Baseline, month 1, month 2The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is an instrument for making criteria-based diagnoses of depressive disorders commonly. Total score 1-29, higher scores denote worse severity of depression.
Hamilton Depression Inventory (HAM-D)Baseline, month 1, month 2The HAM-D is designed to rate the severity of depression in patients. Total score 0-54, higher scores denote worse severity of depression.
Sensation Seeking ScaleBaseline, month 1, month 2This scale is a 43-item. Total score 0-430, higher number denotes worse outcomes.

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
Columbia Suicide Scale (C-SSRS)Baseline, month 1, month 2The C-SSRS is designed to rate an individual's risk for suicide based on lifetime and recent ideations. Scores can range from no risk, low risk, moderate risk, and high risk.
Apathy Motivation Index (AMI)Baseline, month 1, month 2The AMI is an 18-item self-report index of apathy and motivation in Behavioral, Social, and Emotional Domains. Total score in each domain is 0-24 with higher scores denoting increased apathy.
Positive Valence Systems Scale (PVSS)Baseline, month 1, month 2The PVSS is a self-administered 21-item questionnaire measuring the NIMH's Research Domain Criteria Positive Valence System Domain. Total score ranges from 1-189, with higher scores denoting increased response to rewards.
Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS)Baseline, month 1, month 2The SHAPS is a self-administered questionnaire with 14 items assessing domains of pleasure response/hedonic experience. Total score ranges from 0-42 with higher scores indicating increased anhedonia.

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

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