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Adults: Depression

Depression and Brain Imaging Studies

Enrolling locally from the Washington, D.C. metro region

Researchers need people who are depressed to volunteer for a research study looking at the brain.

A Family Study, What Impacts Mood, Sleep, and Energy?

Enrolling locally from the Washington, D.C. metro region

This research study is enrolling people to help us understand how physical activity, daily rhythms, and light affect mental health. 

Brain Imaging and Depression Studies

Enrolling locally from the Washington, D.C. metro region

Researchers need people who are depressed to volunteer for a research study looking at the brain.

Depression & Transcranial Electric Stimulation Therapy (TEST)

Enrolling nationally from around the country

Researchers are testing a new type of non-invasive brain stimulation treatment to see if it is safe and potentially helpful to treat depression symptoms.

Depression Evaluations for Medication and Brain Imaging Studies

Enrolling nationally from around the country

This study screens for various inpatient and outpatient studies that investigate the brain and experimental medications (such as ketamine) to quickly lift severe and hard-to-treat depressive symptoms.

Depression, Experimental ECT and Brain Imaging

Enrolling nationally from around the country

This research study is testing a new type of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) to see if it is a safe and effective method to rapidly reduce and treat depression. With this new type of ECT we decrease the strength of the electric pulse to see if that causes less memory side effects than regular ECT.  We use brain imaging to better understand how the new treatment affects the brain and how this relates to changes in depression or memory.

Depression, Repeated Doses of Ketamine, and Neuroimaging

Enrolling nationally from around the country

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the rapid and sustained antidepressant effects of repeated doses of ketamine in the brain. We want to learn how ketamine affects areas of the brain important in regulating mood and if there are unique signatures that could help predict who may respond to the drug. Also, we want to see if repeated doses of ketamine are safe and effective in treating the symptoms of depression.

Depression, TMS, Psychotherapy and Brain Function

Enrolling nationally from around the country

This research study seeks depressed participants to test the effects of the combination of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and psychotherapy on brain function.

NIMH Family Study of Health and Behavior

Enrolling locally from the Washington, D.C. metro region

The major goal of this study is to examine how mood disorders, anxiety disorders and migraine run in families. We study both genetic and environmental factors that may contribute to these conditions.

Still Depressed? NIH Research Study is Testing a New Antidepressant

Enrolling nationally from around the country

Antidepressant drugs can take weeks or months to work. They also do not work in up to 30% of people with depression. Researchers are studying new treatments. This research study is testing an experimental drug, TS-161, to see if it helps improve depression symptoms.

Suicide and the Brain

Enrolling nationally from around the country

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) researchers seek adults 18 to 70, who have a history of attempted suicide but are not currently suicidal, for a study of suicide and brain function. Participation includes up to seven days as an inpatient at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Procedures include blood tests, medical evaluations, brain imaging, sleep studies and psychiatric interviews. Participants do not need to stop their current medications. Compensation and transportation are provided. Pregnant women and individuals with serious medical conditions are not eligible.