Stress Sensitivity and Reward Responsivity in Depression

Dr. Kate Harkness219 enrolled

Overview

The goal of this project is to learn more about the different ways in which people process information that is stressful and rewarding, and how abnormalities in these two processes are related to depression.

Participants will participate in two 3-hour sessions separated by a week at Providence Care, Mental Health Services, and a third, 1.5-hour session at the Queen's MRI Facility. At the first session participants will complete a packet of questionnaires about their mood and take part in an interview about their mood, medications, drug use, and any other symptoms, as well as an interview about their relationships with their parents and any experiences of abuse. At the second session participants will participate in a stress test, which involves giving a speech to a panel. The investigators will also collect saliva samples to look at stress hormones. Participants will also complete a task on the computer that involves looking at cartoon faces and making decisions about them. At the third session, the investigators take images of of participant's brain using a magnetic resonance scanner. Participants are invited to participate in a 6-month follow-up for this study, which would involve the same procedure as outline above.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

219

Conditions

Depressed

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 65 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

For Depressed Participants: Inclusion Criteria: * Outpatients aged 18-65 * Currently suffering from unipolar depression * Fluency in English, sufficient to complete the interviews and self-report questionnaires Exclusion Criteria: * Clinical diagnosis of bipolar disorder, psychotic disorders, current alcohol/substance dependence, or significant medical comorbidity * Treatment-resistant (defined as failing more than 3 trials of anti-depressant medication) * History of neurological insult (e.g., concussion), neurological disease, seizure disorder * Smokers * Pregnant women * Endocrine disorders * High suicidal risk, defined by clinician judgement For Healthy Control Participants: Inclusion Criteria: * Adults aged 18-65 * No history of Axis I disorders according to DSM-IV-TR criteria, as determined by the SCID * No first-degree relatives diagnosed with bipolar disorder * Fluency in English, sufficient to complete the interviews and self-report questionnaires Exclusion Criteria: * History of neurological insult (e.g., concussion), neurological disease, seizure disorder * Smokers * Pregnant women * Endocrine disorders

Locations (1)

Queen's University

Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Stress Sensitivity: Salivary Hormone and Stress Challenge Test (TSST)

Participants are required to give a speech and an arithmetic test in front of a panel. Saliva samples are collected at 8 points throughout the test.

Time frame: 2 hours after beginning of Time B Appointment

Secondary Outcomes

Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (MASQ)

Self-report scale of general distress (GD), anhedonic depression (AD), and anxious arousal (AA) symptoms

Time frame: Administered at first baseline appointment and covers past 2 weeks

Reward Responsivity: Probabilistic Reward Task

Computerized task that requires participants to choose between two stimuli and develop a response bias to the more frequently rewarded stimulus.

Time frame: Administered at second baseline appointment

Snaith Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS and SHAPS-C)

Self-report of anhedonia symptoms

Time frame: Administered at first baseline appointment and covers past 2 weeks prior to interview

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.