Cognitive and social mechanisms of antidepressant action
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating the effects of antidepressants on belief-updating, social functioning, and mood in people with depression
IRAS ID
358810
Contact name
Rowan Knipe
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Bath
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 1 days
Research summary
In this study, we will follow people with depression who have just started, or are about to start taking, antidepressants over an 8 week period. We will also recruit people with depression who are not taking antidepressants as a comparison group who will be followed for the same period of time. We will measure fluctuations in their thinking processes (i.e., cognition) and social functioning using cognitive tasks and self-report questionnaires. Our aim is to see whether changes in these things can be used to predict how a patients' symptoms respond to taking antidepressants.
Participants will attend 4 online assessments to complete cognitive tasks and self-report questionnaires (at baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks and 8 weeks later). They will also complete daily surveys about their mood, symptoms, sleep quality, and social interactions using a phone app for 4 weeks starting from baseline.
This research aims to contribute to our understanding of how antidepressants work and what it is like to take them. We hope that this will help to inform patients about what to expect from taking the medication. In the long term, we also hope this will help GPs detect earlier signs that antidepressants are working or not so that patients can be switched more quickly to a medication that is effective for their symptoms (i.e., rather than waiting several weeks to see if their mood improves).
REC name
South West - Central Bristol Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/SW/0110
Date of REC Opinion
7 Nov 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion