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

Early Phase 1CompletedNCT02837432

Stanford University192 enrolled

Overview

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.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

DOUBLE

Enrollment

192

Conditions

Depression

Interventions

Hydrocortisone acetateDRUG

PlaceboDRUG

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 21 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

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

Locations (1)

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 401 Quarry Road

Stanford, California, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Sadness-induced subgenual cingulate activity as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Time frame: 2 hours

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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