Major Depressive Disorder Clinical Trials

Anhedonia, the inability to seek-out and experience pleasure, is a common symptom in depression that predicts treatment-resistance and is sometimes exacerbated by first-line antidepressants. In our previous research, we found that anhedonia decreases goal-directed behavior and its related neural activity. In this study, we will investigate target engagement from five-consecutive days of stimulation for participants that are within a unipolar major depressive episode and also have high symptoms of anhedonia. Read Less

Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide and current treatments are ineffective for many people. This trial will investigate the efficacy of a 16-week high vs low dose resistance exercise training program for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in 200 adults. Read Less

Investigating whether delta-beta cross-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation can augment the effects of a single session of behavioral activation in participants with major depressive disorder. Read Less

The purpose of the study is to identify brain biomarkers and characteristics that predict individual responses to treatment of major depression with the antidepressant drug sertraline (tradename Zoloft), a common selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant. Our central hypothesis is that brain activity and connections jointly measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalogram (EEG) will be able to predict an individual's response to sertraline treatment. Read Less

This is a research study to examine the effectiveness of a brief screening method that may predict which people with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression are most likely to show a positive response to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) medications. Participants will be recruited over approximately 5.25 years, until at least 94 participants complete the 17 week study. Read Less

Background: Most drugs that treat mood disorders take a long time to work. Ketamine works within hours. A dose can last for a week or more. Certain receptors in the brain might help ketamine work. A drug that blocks these receptors might affect how it works. Objective: To see if the antidepressant response of ketamine is linked to AMPA receptors. Eligibility: Adults ages 18-70 with major depression disorder without psychotic features Design: Participants will be screened under protocol 01-M-0254. They will have blood tests and a physical exam. Participants will stay at the NIH Clinical Center for 5 weeks. Phase 1 lasts 4 weeks. For 2 weeks, participants will taper off their psychiatric medicine. Then they will have the following tests: Blood draws Psychological tests MRI: Participants will lie in a machine that takes pictures of their brain. MEG: Participants will lie down and do tasks. A cone lowered on their head will record brain activity. Optional sleep tests: Electrodes on the scalp and body and belts around the body will monitor participants while they sleep. Optional TMS: Participants will do tasks while a wire coil is held on their scalp. An electrical current will pass through the coil that affects brain activity. For phase 2, on day 0 participants will take the study drug or a placebo orally. While having a MEG, they will get ketamine infused into a vein in one arm while blood is drawn from a vein in the other arm. On day 1, participants will again take the study drug or a placebo orally. On days 3-7, they will repeat many of the phase 1 tests. Days 8 and 9 are optional and include an open label ketamine treatment and many of the phase 1 tests. Read Less

This study aims to determine whether treatment of CMV positive (CMV+) individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) with valganciclovir (VGCV) alters neural circuitry, reduces inflammation, and improves depressive behavior and symptoms to a greater extent than placebo. In this double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled, parallel group trial, 24 individuals with a Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self Report (QIDS-SR) scale score ≥ 14 will be enrolled to participate in an 8-week treatment study. Participants will be randomized with a 1-1 ratio to receive 900 milligrams (mg) VGCV or placebo to be taken orally once per day. Participants will complete a 2-hour pre-screen, a baseline blood-draw, clinical evaluation, and MRI scan (visit 2), a clinical evaluation, blood draw, and MRI scan at week 4 (visit 6), and a clinical evaluation, blood draw, and MRI scan at week 8 (visit 10). Weekly telephonic visits to assess depressive symptoms and side effects will held between the in-person assessments. Read Less

The purpose of this research study is to study closed-loop transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to determine its effects on symptoms of depression in people with major depressive disorder. Read Less

This is a randomized, double-blind, active-controlled, multi-center study to evaluate the efficacy of AXS-05, compared to bupropion, in preventing the relapse of depressive symptoms in subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD) who have responded to treatment with AXS-05. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to determine efficacy differences between ALTO-100 and placebo, used either as monotherapy or adjunctively to an antidepressant, related to patient characteristics. Read Less

We propose to study approach/avoidance behavior as measured by the Approach Avoidance task in 20 epilepsy patients undergoing implementation of depth electrodes for seizure monitoring in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at MGH. We will also study the effects of VC/VS electrical stimulation on approach-avoidance conflict in 20 adult patients who have undergone DBS implantation for severe MDD and/or OCD. There are 100-200 patients in the world with DBS electrodes in the VC/VS, and our research team cares for more than any other institution. Both participant groups will be assessed with respect to reward-aversion decision conflict using the task. The task will be performed with concurrent EEG recordings in DBS patients, and with continuous recording through our invasive neurophysiology rig in EMU subjects. Read Less

Generating personalized brain signatures of negative emotion along with personalized brain stimulation protocols to disrupt these patterns. We plan to use fMRI and muscle activity data to determine negative affect maps for each participant. We will then try a variety of patterned repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation sequences while recording fMRI which will be the basis of two sessions of 3-day individualized brain stimulation designed to reduce negative affect. Read Less