Neurofeedback to Treat Depression

Reducing Neural Perseveration Through Closed Loop Real Time fMRI Neurofeedback to Alleviate Depressive Symptoms

This study tests the efficacy of a new psychotherapeutic strategy for reducing negative attention bias (and therefore depression severity) in participants with MDD (60 in R61 phase and 80 in R33 Phase). This real-time fMRI neurofeedback therapy uses cloud-based pattern classification to decode a patient's attentional state and dynamically modulate task stimuli (in a closed loop) based on this state.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: MDD
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Active Closed Loop Real Time fMRI Neurofeedback; Behavioral: Sham Closed Loop Real Time fMRI Neurofeedback

Detailed Description

In both the R61and R33 phases we will compare cloud based real time fMRI feedback with placebo (sham feedback) in reducing negative attention bias and depressive symptoms. This study will be the first dose-finding test of real-time fMRI effect on negative attention bias. Measures include: Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID), Clinician-administered diagnostic exam, Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), Clinician-administered scale used to assess the severity of depression, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Self-report questionnaire used to measure types of anxiety and mood symptoms, Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (MASQ), Negative perseveration during a go/no-go task, Go/no-go task with overlaid face/scene stimuli; brain response triggers next stimulus, Negative gaze, Negative gaze collected in gaze data following each real time fMRI feedback session

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 71
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Pennsylvania
    • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
      • Center for Neuromodulation in Depression and Stress

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• gender, inclusive

  • adult aged 18 - 65 meets Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria for MDD according to the Clinician-Administered MDD Scale for DSM-5 (unipolar depression or bipolar II depressed)
  • scores at least a minimum score of 16 on Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS)
  • normal cognition
  • participants must be able to read and understand English
  • participants must be able to provide consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• pregnancy (female participants)

  • outside age range
  • MRI contraindications (medical implant, claustrophobia, etc.)
  • use of psychoactive medication (including antidepressants) or currently in therapy
  • neurological disorder or any condition that in the view of the PI could impact brain data, cause depression, require medication that could cause depressive symptoms, or otherwise result in participant being unfit for study (for example, co-morbid psychotic, neurological disorders, developmentally or cognitively disabled/impaired, active alcohol or drug abuse/dependence within the past 6 months).
  • non-English speaking
  • non-correctable vision loss
  • refusal to provide informed consent
  • representing an active suicide risk

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Active Neurofeedback; R61 Phase: Three training sessions. Each training session contains 32 minutes of active neurofeedback runs. R33 Phase: Number of training sessions are contingent on R61 findings.	Behavioral: Active Closed Loop Real Time fMRI Neurofeedback; Active neurofeedback to target neural mechanisms underlying attentional bias in participants with major depressive discover (MDD)
Sham Comparator: Sham Neurofeedback; R61 Phase: Three training sessions. Each training session contains 32 minutes of sham (placebo) neurofeedback runs. R33 Phase: Number of training sessions are contingent on R61 findings.	Behavioral: Sham Closed Loop Real Time fMRI Neurofeedback; Sham (placebo) neurofeedback to target neural mechanisms underlying attentional bias in participants with major depressive discover (MDD)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Attention Mechanism of Depression	Associate neurofeedback related changes in our hypothesized attentional mechanism of depression (i.e. neural perseveration of negative states) with changes in depression severity as measured by the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS).	5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Pennsylvania
• Collaborators: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Yvette I Sheline, MD, University of Pennsylvania

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 25, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 6, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): June 13, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 8, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 21, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): December 23, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): September 8, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 5, 2025
• Last Verified: September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: 849298; R61MH128492 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Data will only be shared amongst the study sites.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No