NCT03688139

Reward Function and Therapy for Late-Life Depression

Positive Valence System Function and Reward Exposure Therapy for Late-Life Depression

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 65 (actual)
• Sponsor: Weill Medical College of Cornell University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 60 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The goal of this study is to learn about changes in the brain that occur during Engage, a psychotherapy for depression in older adults, and how they may differ from changes that occur during supportive therapy. Older adults with depression will receive 9 weeks of either Engage or supportive therapy and will complete research assessments before the therapy begins and at weeks 3, 6, and 9 of treatment. Research assessments will include questionnaires, computer tasks, and recordings of electrical brain activity (also called electroencephalography or EEG).

Detailed description

Late-life depression is prevalent and devastating, and response rates to even the most effective treatments are low. Outcomes may be improved by developing targeted interventions such as Engage - a new, easily disseminated, neurobiologically informed psychotherapy for late-life depression designed to restore impaired function of neural reward systems. This study will use event-related potentials and a panel of other reward system measures to assess target engagement in depressed older adults receiving Engage therapy, with a comparison group of depressed peers receiving supportive therapy. Participants will be randomly assigned to either Engage or supportive therapy and will complete research assessments at baseline and weeks 3, 6, and 9 (end of treatment).

Conditions

• Major Depressive Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Engage Therapy	Engage therapy is designed to help individuals with depression become involved in activities they previously enjoyed but have not been participating in since developing depression. In Engage therapy, individuals with depression work with a therapist to develop "action plans" to pursue rewarding activities of their choice.
BEHAVIORAL	Supportive Therapy	Supportive therapy is designed to provide a warm and supportive environment in which individuals with depression can feel comfortable expressing their thoughts and feelings. In supportive therapy, therapists help patients identify themes in their thinking, provide reassurance, emphasize coping skills, and provide guidance as needed.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-03-14
• Primary completion: 2024-01-18
• Completion: 2024-01-18
• First posted: 2018-09-28
• Last updated: 2024-11-14
• Results posted: 2024-11-14

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States