Inflammation-Induced Depressed Mood: The Role of Social Neurocognitive Mechanisms

This is an interventional basic science trial for Depression focused on measuring inflammation, depression, social cognition, neural activity Read More

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participants will be required to be in good general health (as evaluated during the phone and in-person screening sessions described below), and to be between 18-50 years of age. All participants will be required to be fluent in English and to be right-handed.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Following a structured telephone interview, prospective participants with the following conditions will not advance to the in-person screening session: claustrophobia or presence of metal in their body (relevant for the neuroimaging component of the study), pregnant or planning to become pregnant in the next 6 months, presence of chronic mental or physical illness, history of allergies, autoimmune, liver, or other severe chronic diseases, current and regular use of prescription medications, nightshift work or time zone shifts (> 3hrs) within the previous 6 weeks, or previous history of fainting during blood draws.

Furthermore, the absence of significant health problems or medication use history will be confirmed by an in-person screening session. Any participant who has any of the following conditions will be ineligible for the study: Medical conditions. (1) presence of co-morbid medical conditions not limited to but including cardiovascular (e.g., history of acute coronary event, stroke) and neurological diseases (e.g., Parkinson's disease), as well as pain disorders; (2) presence of co-morbid inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis or other autoimmune disorders; (3) presence of an uncontrolled medical condition that is deemed by the investigators to interfere with the proposed study procedures, or to put the study participant at undue risk; (4) presence of chronic infection, which may elevate proinflammatory cytokines; (5) presence of an acute infectious illness in the two weeks prior to an experimental session. Psychiatric Disorders. (6) current and/or lifetime history of a major Depressive Disorder or other DSM-IV psychiatric disorder (e.g. substance dependence) due to the known effects of major depression and/or substance dependence on inflammation. (Absence of a psychiatric diagnosis will be based on a structured psychiatric interview (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Diagnosis: SCID; First et al., 1996).) Medication and substance use. (7) current and/or past regular use of hormone-containing medications including steroids; (8) current and/or past regular use of non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs; (9) current and/or past regular use of immune modifying drugs that target specific immune responses such as TNF antagonists; (10) current and/or past regular use of analgesics such as opioids; (11) current and/or past regular use of psychotropic medications, including selective serotinergic reuptake inhibitors, antidepressants, anxiolytics, hypnotics, sedatives and barbiturates. Health factors. (12) current smokers or excessive caffeine users (>600 mg/day) because of known effects on proinflammatory cytokine levels; (13) body mass index (BMI) greater than 35, (14) shows evidence of drug use from a positive urine test, (15) has a positive pregnancy test, if female, or (16) shows any abnormalities on screening laboratory tests.