Regulation of Affect and Physiology in Depression
Purpose
Although treatments for depression are effective for many people, not everyone responds to treatment. This lack of treatment response could be due, in part, to the presence of multiple underlying causes of people's depression. This study aims to identify subtypes of depression, based on two factors: how successful people perceive themselves to be at regulating their affect in everyday life; and how much activity in the parasympathetic nervous system increases during moments when people try to regulate. The study involves ambulatory assessment of affect, regulation strategies, and physiological activity in everyday life, in a sample of young adults with remitted major depressive disorder and healthy volunteers. We will study regulation responses in the lab to further determine how subtypes differ in neural, physiological, and behavioral responses. Finally, participants will be randomly assigned to a remote, self-administered biofeedback intervention (vs. control intervention) designed to increase parasympathetic activity and physiological regulation success. While engaging in biofeedback at home for 10 days, participants will simultaneously repeat the ambulatory assessments. This design will allow us to determine the proximal impact of biofeedback on indices of regulation success in everyday life, and whether biofeedback has differential impact on regulation success for different subtypes.
Condition
- Major Depressive Disorder
Eligibility
- Eligible Ages
- Between 18 Years and 27 Years
- Eligible Genders
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
for Participants with Remitted Depression: 1. Age 18-27. 2. Meeting criteria for lifetime major depressive disorder. 3. Currently meeting criteria for full remission (absence of clinically significant symptoms) for at least eight weeks, and having a Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score of less than or equal to 7. Inclusion Criteria for Healthy Volunteer Participants: 1. Age 18-27. 2. No lifetime history of any psychiatric disorder. 3. No first-degree relatives with a mood disorder.
Exclusion Criteria
(same for all participants): 1. Change in psychotropic medication use within the last 30 days 2. Autism spectrum disorder 3. Current eating disorder 4. Intellectual disability 5. Substance use disorder within the past 6 months 6. Contraindications for magnetic resonance imaging or electrocardiogram assessment (e.g., presence of metal in body, claustrophobia, cardiac device, pregnancy).
Study Design
- Phase
- Phase 2
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel Assignment
- Primary Purpose
- Basic Science
- Masking
- Double (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Arm Groups
| Arm | Description | Assigned Intervention |
|---|---|---|
|
Experimental Osc+ |
Osc+ condition. In the Osc+ condition, participants will see an on-going record of their heart rate over time. They will be instructed to engage in paced breathing and to try to maximize their oscillation score. The paced breathing will be adapted to a rate that allows them to maximize their high amplitude heart rate oscillations. |
|
|
Active Comparator Osc- |
Osc- condition. In the Osc- condition, participants will also see an on-going record of their heart rate over time, and will be instructed to engage in paced breathing. However, they will be asked to try to keep their heart rate steady and avoid oscillations and will get points on an 'alertness' score that inverts the Osc+ 'oscillation' score. |
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Recruiting Locations
More Details
- Status
- Recruiting
- Sponsor
- University of Southern California
