Brain Imaging Study of Belief Updating in Treatment Resistant Depression
Uses brain scans to study belief changes in adults with treatment resistant depression.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Belief Updating in Treatment Resistant Depression
Key facts
- Where
- Paris, FranceSee the site
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 70 years old?
Source: NCT05577247, who can take part
Where in France
- Gh Pitie SalpetriereParis, FranceTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
- Trial code
- NCT05577247
- Record updated
- 13 April 2026
- Original description
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by a cognitive triad of negative beliefs about oneself, the future and the world. For example, depressed patients hold persistently negative expectations about the future, despite contradictory evidence, and these strong negative beliefs are thought to play an important role in the maintenance of depressive symptoms and potentially in treatment resistance. Indeed, one out of three patients with major depressive disorder does not respond to conventional, monoaminergic treatments, which has led to the concept of treatment resistant depression (TRD). It is unknown how the brain encodes the strong negative beliefs that are insensitive to positive disconfirming information in TRD patients, and how these neural underpinnings of maladaptive belief updating are altered by antidepressant treatment.Read full original descriptionShow less
How the Brain Encodes Beliefs: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of the Belief Updating in Treatment Resistant Depression.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by a cognitive triad of negative beliefs about oneself, the future and the world. For example, depressed patients hold persistently negative expectations about the future, despite contradictory evidence, and these strong negative beliefs are thought to play an important role in the maintenance of depressive symptoms and potentially in treatment resistance. Indeed, one out of three patients with major depressive disorder does not respond to conventional, monoaminergic treatments, which has led to the concept of treatment resistant depression (TRD). It is unknown how the brain encodes the strong negative beliefs that are insensitive to positive disconfirming information in TRD patients, and how these neural underpinnings of maladaptive belief updating are altered by antidepressant treatment.
The principal objective of this study is to gain insight into the brain mechanisms of belief updating about the future in TRD patients before and after starting ketamine treatment. The results of this study are expected to provide a better understanding of the neurocognitive mechanisms of belief-updating in depressed patients, and how these mechanisms contribute to clinical improvement following ketamine antidepressant treatment.
Inclusion: Demographic criteria:; Age: 18 to 70 years; Male et female; Diagnostic criteria, severity and clinical course:; Major depressive disorder (MDD) according to the DSM5 criteria; MADRS≥20,; Treatment resistant depression (TRD) defined by failure to respond to at least two trials of different antidepressant treatments; affiliation of a social security regime; Treatments/strategies/procedures:; o At the start of new antidepressant treatment involving glutamate receptor modulators.
Exclusion: Antidepressant treatment involving dopaminergic agonists, and Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI); Mental disorder other than MDD: personality disorder type borderline, schizophrenia; Neurological comorbidities : epilepsy, brain tumor, non-corrected visual and/or auditory deficit; Criteria associated with contraindications/procedures/interventions added by the research:; o Contra-indications for an MRI exam (metallic implant, pacemaker, artificial heart valve, brain vascular malformation, aneurysm clips, exposed by metallic fragments, artificial implants, peripheral or neuronal stimulator, insulin pump, intravenous catheter, epilepsy, metallic contraceptive device, claustrophobia, unwillingness to be informed in case of abnormal MRI (with a significant medical anomaly)); Criteria relating to vulnerable populations:; Criteria relating to associated pathologies carrying specific risks:; Inability to understand the task instructions and to perform the behavioral task; Mini Mental Score (MMS) ≤ 25; Pregnancy; Patient on AME (state medical aid); Patient under guardianship, curators or legal protection.