Neuroimaging for Depression

Launched by MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · Mar 18, 2009

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

Depression can significantly disrupt one's ability to function effectively and efficiently, and the associated performance deficits can seriously jeopardize space mission success. The incidence of serious depression in Earth based analogues of the spaceflight environment has been reported as up to 13% per person per year. Extrapolating from existing reports of depressive episodes during short-duration spaceflight, depression is thus a probable condition in one or more members of a five to seven person crew during a long duration spaceflight (e.g., a 30 month mission to Mars). Mission succes...

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • DSM-IV criteria for minor or major depression
• • Written informed consent
• • Age 30-60 years (age of individuals currently in the astronaut corps)
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Suicidal or homicidal ideation
• • Women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or women of childbearing potential who are not using a medically accepted means of contraception
• • Known history of serious or unstable medical illness
• • History of seizure disorder, brain injury, any history of known neurological disease
• • Clinical or lab evidence of untreated hypothyroidism
• • History or DSM-IV diagnosis of organic mental disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, psychotic disorders not otherwise specified, bipolar disorder, patients with mood congruent or mood incongruent psychotic features, patients with substance use disorders (excluding alcohol and nicotine) active within the last 12 months
• • Current use of other psychotropic drugs, including current use of benzodiazepines, hypnotics, anticonvulsants
• • Patients who have failed to respond during the course of their current major depressive episode to at least two antidepressant trials
• • Currently undergoing depression-focused psychotherapy
• • Patients who have taken an investigational psychotropic drug within the past year
• • Patient cannot safely enter the MRI scanning environment
• • Latex allergy