Inhibitory Mechanisms of Negative Urgency in Adolescent Suicidal Behavior
Who can join
As published by the study on ClinicalTrials.gov. "Not stated" means the study hasn't said — ask the study team.
- Age
- 13 Years to 21 Years
- Sex
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Compensation
- Not stated
Other requirements are listed under Eligibility below. Only the study team can confirm whether you can join.
What to expect
No one can promise a trial will help you personally — that is what the research is trying to find out.
What participation involves
Not stated in the study description — ask the study team about visits and procedures.
- Compensation
- Not stated
- Study-related exams and procedures are typically provided at no cost. This is how many trials work in general — confirm the details for this study with the study team.
- Participants are monitored closely by the research team throughout the study.
- Some participants may receive access to an investigational treatment, which is still being studied.
- Your participation helps researchers learn whether this approach could help future patients.
About this study
In plain language
This study looks at why some young people act without thinking when they feel upset, and how this relates to brain signals. It is for people ages 13–21 who have depression and a history of suicidal thoughts or actions. Study visits include interviews, surveys, computer games, brain scans, and brain signal tests at the start, 6 months, and 12 months.
The goal of this study is to understand why some people act more impulsively when feeling negative emotions, which is called negative urgency. The researchers hope to understand how negative urgency relates to the way networks of brain cells communicate with one another. The researchers will measure negative urgency and brain signals in adolescents aged 13-21 years with depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Whether a type of brain signaling called cortical inhibition is related to negative urgency * Whether depressed adolescents with suicidal behavior have more problems with cortical inhibition than depressed adolescents with suicidal thoughts only * Whether the relationship between negative urgency and cortical inhibition changes over time Adolescents who participate in the study will complete the following activities at the time they join the study, as well as 6 months and 12 months later: * Interviews with researchers and questionnaires to learn about their thoughts, emotions, and symptoms * A questionnaire about impulsive behaviors and negative urgency * Computerized games that measure brain functions * An MRI scan of the brain * Transcranial magnetic stimulation with electroencephalography (TMS-EEG), a way to measure how brain cells communicate (cortical inhibition) using a magnet placed outside of the head and recording brain signals
Compensation is read from the study's own description and may be missing — always confirm with the study team.
Eligibility
Who can join
- Be 13–21 years old. People of any sex, gender, race, or ethnicity may join.
- If 18 or older, be able to give written consent to join.
- If under 18, be able to agree in writing, and have a legal guardian who can give written consent.
- Be able to read, speak, and write in English. A parent or guardian must also be able to do this, if involved.
- Have current depression confirmed by a study interview.
- For the suicidal-thoughts group: have had suicidal thoughts, but never a suicide attempt, including an attempt stopped by yourself or someone else.
- For the suicidal-actions group: have had a suicide attempt, including an attempt stopped by yourself or someone else.
- Have reliable internet if doing any study visits by video.
Who can't join
- Have an immediate risk of suicide, as judged by a study doctor.
- Have a substance use disorder in the past month, except one involving caffeine or nicotine.
- Have ever had psychosis (trouble knowing what is real), mania, or hypomania (periods of unusually high mood or energy).
- Have been diagnosed with autism or an intellectual disability.
- Take anti-seizure medicine or regularly take benzodiazepines, a type of medicine used for anxiety or sleep. Occasional use may be allowed if it can be skipped on the TMS-EEG test day.
- Be pregnant or possibly pregnant.
- Have a condition or device that makes the magnetic brain tests unsafe or hard to complete. Examples include seizures, epilepsy in the family, past lack of oxygen to the brain, a head injury with more than 5 minutes unconscious, metal or implanted devices, risk of high pressure inside the skull, or past brain surgery.
- Have hair changes or body modifications on the head or neck that cannot be removed and would block brain stimulation or brain signal recording.
Simplified for readability. The official criteria below are what the study team uses.
Official eligibility criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Ages 13-21 years (inclusive) * Any sex, gender, race, or ethnicity * For participants 18 years of age or older, ability to provide written informed consent * For participants under 18 years of age, ability to provide written assent, with legal guardian's ability to provide written informed consent * Ability of participant (and parent/guardian, if applicable) to read and to communicate verbally and in writing in English (in order to permit comprehensive assessment of suicide risk by study team, and to facilitate safety planning and mitigation of suicide-related risks as necessary) * Current diagnosis of a unipolar depressive episode (major depressive episode, unspecified depressive disorder, or adjustment disorder with depressed mood), confirmed on the structured diagnostic interview (MINI or MINI-Kid) * For participants in the Dep/SI group: * Any lifetime history of suicidal ideation, as assessed by the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) * No prior history of suicidal behavior (interrupted attempt, aborted attempt, or suicide attempt) as assessed by the C-SSRS * For participants in the Dep/SB group: \-- Any lifetime history of suicidal behavior (interrupted attempt, aborted attempt, or suicide attempt) as assessed by the C-SSRS * If the study participant will be completing any of the assessments remotely through the use of video teleconferencing, access to a reliable internet connection will be required Exclusion Criteria: * Imminent suicide risk as determined by the PI or other study board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist (based on review of C-SSRS and SSI scales and clinical assessment of participant) * Current substance use meeting diagnostic criteria for a substance use disorder within the last month on the MINI or MINI-KID diagnostic interview (with the exceptions of caffeine and nicotine) * Lifetime history of psychosis, hypomania, or mania * Historical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disability * Antiepileptic medication use or chronic benzodiazepine use (as-needed benzodiazepine use will be permitted if it can be held on day of study visit with TMS-EEG testing) * Pregnancy or suspected pregnancy in participants capable of becoming pregnant (assessed with urine pregnancy test) * Medical/neurologic history that would pose increased risks for transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or factors that would impede completion of study procedures, including: * Neurological disorders including seizure disorder, history of anoxia, history of head injuries with loss of consciousness for greater than 5 minutes * Suicide attempt by hanging or strangulation (asphyxiation) leading to anoxia * Any personal history of seizure or family history of epilepsy * Any metallic implants, fragments, or devices * Any cardiac pacemaker, medication pump, neural stimulator, or other implanted medical device * Risk for increased intracranial pressure (e.g., history of intracranial mass) * History of intracranial surgical procedure * Any contraindication to TMS determined by the TMS Adult Safety Screen (TASS) * Any contraindication to MRI identified on imaging center screening form * Any non-removable hair, head, or neck body modifications that would impede TMS and proper EEG recording
Study sites (1)
MN
- University of Minnesota · Minneapolis, MN 55414Charles Lewis · Study contactMore trials in Minneapolis