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Neural Circuit Effects of Ketamine in Depression

Neural Circuit-Specific Mechanisms of Ketamine's Effect on Anhedonia and Anxiety in Depression Using Ultra-High Field 7-Tesla MRI

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06213324
Enrollment
120
Registered
2024-01-19
Start date
2024-01-31
Completion date
2028-04-30
Last updated
2025-07-03

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

Conditions

Major Depressive Disorder

Brief summary

This project is designed to examine the role of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) in anhedonia and anxiety in humans with depression, as well as the acute and sustained effects of ketamine on agACC activation and depression symptoms.

Interventions

DRUGKetamine

0.5 mg/kg ketamine dissolved in 100 mL saline, delivered intravenously

DRUGPlacebo

Normal saline delivered intravenously

Sponsors

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
CollaboratorNIH
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

Double blind

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

MDD Group * Male or female aged 18-65 years; * Ability for participant to comply with the requirements of the study as determined by the PI; * Capacity to provide informed consent; * Meets diagnostic criteria for current MDD according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fifth Edition (DSM-5); * In a current major depressive episode (MDE) of at least moderate severity according to DSM-5; * Women must be using a medically accepted reliable means of contraception (if using an oral contraceptive medication, they must also be using a barrier contraceptive) or not be of childbearing potential (i.e., surgically sterile, postmenopausal for at least one year). * Women of childbearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test at screening and prior to the infusion. HC Group * Male or female aged 18-65 years; * Capacity to provide informed consent; * Women must be using a medically accepted reliable means of contraception (if using an oral contraceptive medication, they must also be using a barrier contraceptive) or not be of childbearing potential (i.e., surgically sterile, postmenopausal for at least one year). * Ability for participant to comply with the requirements of the study as determined by the PI;

Exclusion criteria

MDD Group * Current or history of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder/episode, bipolar disorder, neurodevelopmental disorder, or neurocognitive disorder; * Current major depressive disorder with psychotic features; * Substance use disorder within the past 2 years\*; * Lifetime history of ketamine use disorder; * Antidepressant medication within 2 weeks of Baseline (4 weeks for fluoxetine); * Severe current illness as reflected by a CGI score \>5; * Any unstable medical illnesses including hepatic, renal, gastroenterologic, respiratory, cardiovascular (including ischemic heart disease); endocrinologic, neurologic (including history of severe head injury), immunologic, or hematologic disease; * Clinically significant abnormalities of laboratories, physical examination, or ECG; * Positive urine toxicology screen for drugs of abuse at the time of screening, except cannabis; * Women who plan to become pregnant, are pregnant or are breast-feeding (because the medical risk of using ketamine during pregnancy and breast-feeding is unknown); * Active suicidal intent or plan; CSSRS score \>2; * Any contraindications to MRI, including claustrophobia, any trauma or surgery which may have left magnetic material in the body, magnetic implants or pacemakers, and inability to lie still for 1 hour or more; * Presence of a condition or abnormality that in the opinion of the Investigator would compromise the safety of the participant or the quality of the data. HC Group * Current or history of any psychiatric, neurodevelopmental disorder, or neurocognitive disorder; * Substance use disorder within the past 2 years\*; * Any unstable medical illnesses including hepatic, renal, gastroenterologic, respiratory, cardiovascular (including ischemic heart disease); endocrinologic, neurologic (including history of severe head injury), immunologic, or hematologic disease; * Clinically significant abnormalities of laboratories or physical examination; * Positive urine toxicology screen for drugs of abuse at the time of screening, except cannabis; * Current pregnancy; * Women who are breast feeding; * Active suicidal intent or plan; CSSRS score \>2; * Any contraindications to MRI, including claustrophobia, any trauma or surgery which may have left magnetic material in the body, magnetic implants or pacemakers, and inability to lie still for 1 hour or more.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
sgACC response to the Incentive Flanker TaskBaselineSubgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) response to reward measured by the BOLD (Blood Oxygen Level Dependent) signal within the sgACC region of the brain, during an fMRI Incentive Flanker Task in healthy controls and in adults with MDD. BOLD signal is the unit of measure of this outcome.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Treatment-related change in sgACC response to the Incentive Flanker TaskBaseline and Day 1Treatment-related change from baseline to 1-day post treatment in subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) response to reward measured by the BOLD (Blood Oxygen Level Dependent) signal within the sgACC region of the brain, during an fMRI Incentive Flanker Task. MDD adults only.

Countries

United States

Contacts

Primary ContactSibilla Masieri
sibilla.masieri@mssm.edu

Outcome results

None listed

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