Cognitive Flexibility in Major Depression in the Course of Pharmacological and Psychotherapeutic Treatment

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2008-08-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

Cognitive deficits in major depression seem explicable by the well-recognized concept of impaired neuroplasticity in mood disorders. This concept initially emerged from preclinical evidence that antidepressants phosphorylate and therefore activate the cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB) that is essential for synaptic plasticity. Nevertheless, the question remains whether the activation of CREB by antidepressants is relevant for the remission of cognitive deficits in patients. We addressed this issue by investigating the cognitive improvement during treatment with either citalopram or reboxetine because these antidepressants are different in their capacity to increase phosphorylated CREB (pCREB). Besides the pharmacological treatment groups, another group of patients was treated exclusively with psychotherapy.

• Phase: N/A
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: No

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Zentrum für Integrative Psychiatrie
• Collaborator: German Research Foundation
• Treatments: Citalopram; Dexetimide; Reboxetine; Serotonin; Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosed according DSM-IV criteria as suffering from major depressive disorder

• A baseline score of at least 18 in the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD)

• No psychopharmacological treatment at least one week prior inclusion or 3 days wash-out

Exclusion Criteria:

• Severe depressive episode and/or psychotic depressive episode

Axis I disorder:

• Substance-related Disorders

• Psychotic Disorders

• Dementia or other cognitive Disorders

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders

Axis II disorder:

• Borderline Personality Disorder

Axis III disorder:

• Infectious Diseases

• Cancer

• Endocrinological Diseases

• Hematological Diseases

• Autoimmune Diseases