Clinical Depression is more than a sad mood. It affects important brain functions such as sleep, appetite, enjoyment, concentration and memory. It can even lead to thoughts of death and suicide. Researches at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center are using the latest scientific methods, including PET and fMRI scans and studies of sleep, to learn how depression affects the brain.
The Sleep Neuroscience in Depression research study will involve 35 depressed patients and 35 healthy adults, both men and women, for comparison. This research study is made up of assessments of sleep and PET studies of brain activity to be described below.
If you are eligible to participate in this research study based on a clinical interview, you will be scheduled to sleep overnight at the Clinical Neuroscience Research Center, sleep lab, at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic for four nights. You will be scheduled for your sleep studies on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday night within the same week. On Thursday night you will be allowed to sleep at home.
You will be asked to have three separate Positron Emission Tomography (PET) assessments, one during waking, one during deep sleep and one during dreaming sleep. The first PET scan will occur on the morning following the second night of sleep. The second and third PET assessments will occur in the middle of the night during the third and fourth nights of sleep.
Prior to your first night of sleep, you will receive a general medical examination including a physical examination and laboratory work consisting of an EKG, urine drug screen, a blood count, electrolytes, liver function tests and thyroid function tests. You will also be asked to have one functional Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging study of your brain and psychological testing. Results from your physical, MR scan and psychological tests will determine eligibility to proceed with the research study.
Upon completion of this research study including sleep assessments, fMRI and PET studies you will receive an extensive evaluation of your sleep and an MR of your brain and compensated $400.00.
If you are between the ages of 21 and 65, think you may be depressed and are not currently taking antidepressant medication, you may be eligible to participate in this research study. To learn more about this research study, please contact the Project Coordinator at (412) 246-6448 or you can contact us via the web.
