Brain scans may reveal who will benefit from common antidepressant
NCT ID NCT05892744
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study aims to find brain-based markers that can predict how individuals with major depression will respond to the antidepressant sertraline (Zoloft). Researchers will use fMRI and EEG brain scans to measure brain activity and connections before treatment. Fifty adults with chronic or recurrent depression will take sertraline for 8 weeks, and their symptom changes will be linked to their brain scan patterns. The goal is to personalize depression treatment by identifying which patients are most likely to benefit from this medication.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 4
Runs after approval, following long-term safety and how well the treatment works in everyday use.
- Participants
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About 50 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2023
- Expected to finish
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Jul 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 65 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * English as primary language, and comprehension suitable to understand experimenter instructions * Meet criteria for a current major depressive episode diagnosed through the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition (DSM-5) (SCID-5) * Meet criteria for early onset (prior to age 30) of depression and either: a) current major depressive episode lasts for \> 2 years; or b) participant meets criteria for recurrent major depression as evidenced by 2 or more major depressive episodes (including current episode) in their lifetime. These criteria will be assessed by the SCID-5. * Have a Quick Inventory of Depression Symptomology Self-Report Measures (QIDS) score \> 14 at baseline and the week prior to first Sertraline administration * Willing and able to undergo MRI and EEG procedures. Exclusion Criteria: * Non-early onset (i.e., after age 30), non-chronic (current episode lasting less than 2 years or only one lifetime major depressive episode, including current episode) qualifying Major Depressive Disorder * Must not have failed to respond to any prior antidepressant treatment in the current episode of sufficient duration and dose as defined by the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Antidepressant Treatment Response Questionnaire * Currently pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or breastfeeding * Evidence of current or prior history of psychosis or bipolar disorder as evidenced by self-report or clinical interview * Meeting DSM-5 criteria for a substance-use disorder of moderate or greater severity in the past 6 months * Unstable psychiatric or medical conditions that may require hospitalizations or contraindicate study medication (i.e. autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, cancer, congestive heart failure, etc.) * Contraindications to MRI including, but not limited to, history of stroke, brain tumors, brain hemorrhages, internal wires, electrodes, pacemakers, implants, irremovable ferromagnetic objects in head that are unsafe for MRI and/or cause large distortions in imaging data, etc. * History of epilepsy, moderate or severe traumatic brain injury, penetrating head injury, brain surgery, brain tumors, or any condition requiring an anticonvulsant * Treatment with electroconvulsive therapy, vagus nerve stimulation, or transcranial magnetic stimulation during the current depressive episode * Concomitant medication use that are likely to interfere or obscure effects from the study medication, including but not limited to antipsychotics and mood stabilizers * Current regular depression-specific evidence-based psychotherapy treatment * Considered by the investigative team to be a significant suicide risk as evidence by self-report or clinical interview
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Health Discovery Building (HDB), 1601 Trinity St., Bldg B., Z0600
RECRUITINGAustin, Texas, 78712, United States
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