3 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
The purpose of this study is to learn if measures of brain activity are different in children and adolescents with depression who are in different stages of treatment. This is important because it may identify a biological marker for depression that could one day be used to identify depressed children who would benefit from certain treatments (medications for example), or to monitor how well treatments are working. Brain activity measures(known as cortical excitability and inhibition) will be collected by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). TMS is a noninvasive (no surgery or implants) brain stimulation technology which can make parts of the brain work without putting any wires or chemicals into the body. Measurements will take place over one 3-hour visit. This study does not provide any form of treatment. \*There is an optional portion of the study that uses a brain scan to gather measures of brain structure and brain chemicals. The brain scan is called magnetic resonance and spectroscopy (MRI/MRS). MRI/MRS uses magnetic fields to study the structure of the brain and brain chemicals. The PI will determine eligibility for the MRI/MRS portion of the study.
We hope to demonstrate that magnetic resonance spectroscopy can detect brain concentration levels of paroxetine (Paxil) or citalopram (Celexa) or escitalopram (Lexapro) in depressed patients.
The purpose of this study is to learn if measures of brain chemicals from a brain scan called Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy (MRI/MRS) and brain activity (known as cortical excitability and inhibition) collected by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) are different in adolescents with depression who are in different stages of treatment. Researchers are conducting this study to learn more about how the brain works in adolescents with depression and without depression (healthy controls). This is important because it may identify a biological marker (a measure of how bad an illness is) for depression that could one day be used to identify depressed adolescents who would benefit from certain treatments (medications for example) or to monitor how well treatments are working.