Emotional Cognitive Bias Modification in Depression (MILESTONE RCT)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
fMRI investigation of the neural mechanisms of Emotional Cognitive Bias Modification as an adjunct therapy to SSRIs in depression.
IRAS ID
282861
Contact name
Ian Penton-Voak
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Bristol
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN37448835
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Recent studies indicate that pharmacotherapy for depression is ineffective in one-third to a half of patients. Furthermore, mounting evidence suggests that antidepressant drugs (e.g., selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, SSRIs) work best in combination with psychological therapies. There is little work, however, to determine what the minimum effective psychological intervention may be in addition to drug treatment, and a similar lack of studies examining mechanisms of action of such adjunct therapies.
Processing of emotional information is critical to social functioning but is disrupted in many psychiatric disorders, including Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). We aim to investigate whether a novel Emotional Cognitive Bias Modification (CBM) psychological therapy that improves the way we see emotion in others could improve antidepressant drug efficacy. Specifically, we will deliver both online CBM training and SSRI pharmacotherapy in patients with a new episode of depression, to investigate whether this leads to changes in brain activity, assessed in an MRI scanner, that have been associated with improvements in mood in earlier work. Therapeutically, this combination of CBM and antidepressants has the potential to improve patient outcomes, and this study aims to investigate the mechanisms that may underlie this possibility.REC name
London - Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/LO/1118
Date of REC Opinion
25 Nov 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion