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Invasive Decoding and Stimulation of Altered Reward Computations in Depression Patients

Invasive Decoding and Stimulation of Altered Reward Computations in Depression

Who can join

Ages 18 to 80 · All sexes

Inclusion Criteria:

\- The study will follow clinical criteria for epilepsy patient recruitment for invasive monitoring. As a results, individuals of adults of all ages are expected to be included in this study.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Adults over 80 years of age will be excluded as per concerns of cognitive decline.
* Children under 18 will be excluded from the study since the maturation of frontal lobes continues through adolescence and significant differences in frontal lobe functioning between children younger than 18 and adults are often observed.

About the study

Novel invasive neurostimulation stimulation strategies through neurosurgical interventions are emerging as a promising therapeutical strategy for major depressive disorder. These have been applied mostly to the anterior cingulate cortex, but other limbic brain regions have shown promise as anatomical targets for new neurostimulation strategies. The researchers seek to study neural activity in limbic brain areas implicated in decision behavior and mood regulation to identify novel targets for treatment through electrical stimulation. To do this, the study team will record local field potentials (LFPs) from the orbitofrontal cortex, hippocampus and amygdala of epilepsy participants undergoing invasive monitoring (intracranial encephalography, iEEG) during choice behavior. Leveraging the high co-morbidity of depression and intractable epilepsy (33-50%), neural responses will be compared to reward across depression status to identify abnormal responses in depression. Finally, the researchers will use these as biomarkers to guide development of neurostimulation strategies for the treatment of depression.

What is being tested

• Brain stimulation (procedure)

Sponsor: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai · Participants: 10 · Started: Oct 6, 2021

Contact the study team

• Lizbeth Nunez Martinez · Phone: (661) 772-6200

Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT05239780

Locations in the U.S.

Conditions

• Major Depressive Disorder

From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.