Can brain scans and voice recordings predict the best depression treatment?
NCT ID NCT04480918
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study is a registry that will follow up to 1,000 adults with treatment-resistant depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who receive electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), or ketamine/esketamine. Researchers will collect data from brain scans, cognitive tests, voice recordings, and genetic tests before, during, and after treatment. The goal is to find biological markers that can predict which therapy works best for each person, moving toward personalized psychiatry.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), ketamine, esketamine
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help doctors choose the best treatment for each patient with depression or OCD, making care more personalized.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational registry, not a controlled trial, so it cannot prove which treatment works best. Results may take years and might not change practice directly.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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About 1,000 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2020
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2050
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.
Who is studied
Adult patients (18-99 years old) in a current major depressive episode in the context of major depressive disorder (MDD) or bipolar disorder (BD) will be recruited for this protocol. Adult patients received TMS for OCD will also be recruited. All treatment will be in addition to the patient's clinical care with the University of Iowa's Interventional Psychiatry Service for treatment-resistant major depression or OCD, and the decision to participate, withdraw from participation or not participate will if not affect clinical care decision-making. We appreciate that minority groups tend to be underrepresented in neuropsychiatric research studies. Therefore, we will make a concerted effort to keep the proportion of racial/ethnic minorities recruited consistent with the demographics of the surrounding communities.
- Ages
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18 to 99 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: 1. 18-99 years of age 2. English-speaker with a level of understanding sufficient to agree to clinical treatment with a treatment modality offered by the Interventional Psychiatry Service, all required research procedures, and sign an informed consent document 3. Clinical diagnosis of a major depressive episode in the context of major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder or treatment-resistant OCD evaluated by a provider on the Interventional Psychiatry Service and felt to be an appropriate candidate for clinical treatment with a treatment modality offered by the Interventional Psychiatry Service. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: 1. Age less than 18 years 2. A primary neuropsychiatric diagnosis that is not either major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder 3. Serious, unstable medical conditions/problems including hepatic, renal, gastroenterologic, respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrinologic, neurologic, immunologic, or hematologic disease, e.g. uncontrolled asthma, uncontrolled hyper/hypothyroidism or active cancer. 4. Involuntary commitment to psychiatry inpatient units 5. If patients have one or more of the following MRI Exclusion criteria, they will not be able to participate in those aspects of this study: 1. The presence of an implanted device including pacemaker, coronary stent, defibrillator, or neurostimulation device that is not MRI-compatible 2. The presence of ferromagnetic objects in the body, i.e. bullets, shrapnel, and/or metal slivers 3. Clinically-significant claustrophobia 4. Clinically-significant hearing loss 5. Pregnant or nursing women or women of child bearing potential not using at least one medically accepted means of contraception (to include oral, injectable, or implant birth control, condom or diaphragm with spermicide, intrauterine devices (IUD), tubal ligation, abstinence, or partner with vasectomy) 6. The presence of any medical illness likely to alter brain morphology and/or physiology (e.g., hypertension, diabetes) even if controlled by medications
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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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University of Iowa Health Care
RECRUITINGIowa City, Iowa, 52242, United States
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