Emotional Cognition: Establishing Constructs and Neural-Behavioral Mechanisms in Older Adults With Depression

This is a cross-sectional pilot study designed to establish hot and cold cognitive functions and underlying neurocircuitry in older adults with MDD. The investigators will study 120 participants aged 21-80 years old with MDD. All participants will undergo clinical and neurocognitive assessment, and Magnetoencephalography (MEG)/Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures at one time point. The investigators will also enroll 120 demographically matched comparable, never-depressed healthy participants (controls) to establish cognitive benchmarks. Healthy controls will complete clinical and neurocognitive measures at one time point. To attain a balanced sample of adults across the lifespan, the investigators will enroll participants such that each age epoch (e.g., 21-30, 31-40, etc.) has a total of ten subjects (n=10) in both the healthy control cohort and depressed cohort.

NCT Number	NCT05966532
Lead Sponsor	University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Collaborators: The University of Texas at Arlington, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), JERRY M LEWIS MENTAL HEALTH RSRCH FDTN
Conditions	Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Healthy Adult Volunteer
Enrollment	276 participants
Start Date	2023-12-11
Primary Completion	2027-06-01 (estimated)
Study Completion	2027-08-31 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-07-30