Clinical Trial: Dimensional Approach to Evaluate Reward Processing in Major Depressive Disorder Pre- and Post-Desvenlafaxine Treatment

Study Status: Not yet recruiting
Recruit Status: Not yet recruiting
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: A Dimensional Approach to Evaluate Reward Processing in Major Depressive Disorder Before and After Treatment With Desvenlafaxine

Brief Summary: Anhedonia (the lack of pleasure in normally pleasurable things) is a common symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD), and it may impact how patients with depression experience reward. Understanding how anhedonia is related to the experience of reward may help improve how depression is treated. Computer tasks can be used to measure how reward is experienced, and these measures might be able to predict things like who is likely to become depressed, or who will respond to antidepressant medication. Studying the relationship between anhedonia and reward in patients with depression might also tell us something about how to improve diagnosis and treatment of other psychiatric disorders.This is an open label controlled treatment study lasting 8 weeks. The brain scans will be used to find changes in brain areas that may be related to how people perform on the tasks. The investigators goal is to use this information to help us find a reliable predictor that can be used to guide MDD treatment.

Detailed Summary:
Sponsor: St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto

Current Primary Outcome:

  • Measuring Reward association and valuation using the Reward Association Task [ Time Frame: Change from Baseline at 8 Weeks ]
    Based on signal detection theory, it evaluates response bias as a function of prior reward and permits an objective assessment of disorder-related sensitivity to reward. To evaluate the how the 6 facets of reward are related to each other in unmedicated MDD patients in order to develop a clearer understanding of reward pathways
  • Measuring Expectation using a prediction error task, to measure learning and choosing, during functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) [ Time Frame: Change from Baseline at 8 Weeks ]
    This distinction was included in the design in order to dissociate potentially different neural circuits subserving learning reward associations and using them to guide behavior. To evaluate the how the 6 facets of reward are related to each other in unmedicated MDD patients in order to develop a clearer understanding of reward pathways
  • Anticipation of reward using the monetary incentive delay during fMRI [ Time Frame: Change from Baseline at 8 Weeks ]
    This task was designed to disentangle anticipatory vs. consummatory phases of reward processing. To evaluate the how the 6 facets of reward are related to each other in unmedicated MDD patients in order to develop a clearer understanding of reward pathways
  • Motivation/effort using the Cued-Reinforcement Reaction Time Task and the EEfRT task. [ Time Frame: Change from Baseline at 8 Weeks ]
    The Cued-Reinforcement Reaction Time Task (CRRT) provides an

    Original Primary Outcome: Same as current

    Current Secondary Outcome:

    Original Secondary Outcome:

    Information By: St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto

    Dates:
    Date Received: July 15, 2016
    Date Started: November 2016
    Date Completion: January 2019
    Last Updated: August 3, 2016
    Last Verified: August 2016