Function of Catecholamines in the Brain During Depression
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT00082030. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.
Official title
Neural Correlates of Depressive Symptoms and Reward Related Mechanisms Following AMPT Depletion in Remitted Depressed Patients Off Treatment and Healthy Controls
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
This study will explore brain function related to depressive symptoms and will examine DNA for genes that may be involved in depressive disorders, particularly genes that regulate synthesis and metabolism of the brain neurotransmitter catecholamine. It will compare findings in patients with major depressive disorders who are in remission with those in normal, healthy volunteers. Patients with remitted major depressive disorders and healthy normal volunteers between 18 and 60 years of age may be eligible for this study. Candidates are screened with a psychiatric and medical history, physical examination, electrocardiogram, and blood and urine tests. Participants undergo the following tests and procedures in up to eight visits to the NIH Clinical Center: Memory Tasks and Problem Solving and Brain Imaging Subjects are tested with measurements of intelligence or memory ability. They also undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a test that uses a magnetic field and radio waves to produce images of the brain. For this procedure, the patient lies on a table that is moved into the scanner (a narrow cylinder), and wears earplugs to muffle loud knocking and thumping sounds that occur during the scanning process. The MRI lasts about 60 minutes. Catecholamine Depletion Study For this study, subjects take capsules containing either AMPT (a drug that temporarily reduces brain catecholamine activity) or a placebo (lactose capsules, which do not affect brain catecholamine activity) at 9 a.m., 2 p.m., and 7 p.m. on one visit and return the next day to take additional capsules at 7 a.m. and noon. In addition to the study medication, subjects keep a low-monoamine diet (e.g., no chocolate, cheese, smoked meats, and various other foods that will be enumerated) and do not smoke, drink alcohol, or take in food or drink containing caffeine. After taking all the study capsules, the subjects have positron emission tomography (PET) and functional MRI (fMRI) scans, as follows: * fMRI: While lying in the MRI scanner, the subject performs a monetary reward task that is somewhat like playing a computer video game for money. The amount of cash the subject can win depends on his or her performance. It is possible to lose money that was previously won, if performance declines. This portion of the study provides information on how the brain processes reward and about the role of catecholamines in this process. * PET: The subject is injected in the arm with a glucose solution that has a radioactive substance attached that can be detected by the PET scanner. During the scan, the subject looks at photographs of faces on a computer screen and is asked to tell the gender of the persons. This test shows brain blood flow and measures brain glucose (sugar) metabolism, which reflects brain activity. At the end of the scan, subjects are asked about their mood and general well being. They return to the Clinical Center the following day for and evaluation of their emotional state. The catecholamine depletion study is repeated a second time 14 days or more after the first. Subjects who received AMPT capsules for the first study take lactose capsules for the second study, and vice-versa.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT00082030
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Study type
- Observational
- Phase
- Not listed
- Enrollment
- 71 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Interventions
Not listed
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 18 Years to 45 Years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepts healthy volunteers
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- Apr 18, 2004
- Primary completion
- Not listed
- Completion
- Nov 17, 2011
- Last update posted
- Jul 1, 2017
2004 – 2011
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike | Bethesda | Maryland | 20892 | — |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT00082030, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Jul 1, 2017 · Synced Sep 6, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT00082030 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.