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Optimal Dose of a Cognitive Control Training for Depression Vulnerability

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Major Depression in Remission
Interventions
Behavioral: Cognitive control training
Registration Number
NCT05166798
Lead Sponsor
University Ghent
Brief Summary

This study aims to examine the dose-response relationship of an online adaptive cognitive control training on depressive symptomatology and rumination. Participants will be randomized over six groups, each receiving a different dose (0, 1, 5, 10, 15 or 20 sessions) of a cognitive control training in remitted depressed patients. An adaptive Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task will be used as cognitive control training.

Detailed Description

Depression is often associated with cognitive impairments and recent studies have found that for some people, these cognitive problems persist after remission of depression. These cognitive impairments could be a risk factor for recurrence of depressive episodes. Cognitive control training aims to address these cognitive impairments and decrease the risk of recurrence of depression.

One promising operationalization of cognitive control training is the adaptive Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task, but currently, it's unclear how many sessions one should complete in order to obtain cognitive- and emotional transfer effects. By comparing multiple groups with a different number of sessions (0, 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20), with measures at post (one month after baseline) and two follow-up periods (at 3 months and 6 months after baseline), this study examines the effects of an online cognitive control training on depressive vulnerability factors.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
216
Inclusion Criteria
  • History of ≥ 1 depressive episode(s)
  • Currently in remission (≥ 3 months)
  • Access to a computer with an internet connection
Exclusion Criteria
  • Ongoing depressive episode
  • Psychotic disorder (current and/or previous)
  • Neurological impairments (current and/or previous)
  • Excessive substance abuse (current and/or previous)
  • Use of antidepressant medication is allowed if kept at a constant level

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Intervention groupCognitive control trainingCognitive control training: The adaptive Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (aPASAT) is a Cognitive Control Training where participants need to click on the sum of the last two heard digits. Task difficulty is modified based on the participants' current task performance, allowing training of cognitive control. Five intervention groups will each receive a different amount of sessions.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II-NL)baseline, post training (one month after baseline), 3 month follow-up after baseline, 6 month follow-up after baseline

Self-report questionnaire with 21 items, depression symptom severity, scores can range from 0 to 63, with higher scores indicating more severe depression.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ-NL)baseline, post training (one month after baseline), 3 month follow-up after baseline, 6 month follow-up after baseline

Change from baseline in perseverative thinking. The PTQ-NL consist of 15 items and are assessed using scores ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (almost always). Lower scores indicate lower levels of preservative thinking.

Change in Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ)baseline, post training (one month after baseline), 3 month follow-up after baseline, 6 month follow-up after baseline

Self-reported measure for emotion regulation: a 36-item questionnaire, consisting of 9 subscales (Self-blame, Other-blame, Rumination, Catastrophizing, Putting into Perspective, Positive Refocusing, Positive Reappraisal, Acceptance and Planning). Each item is rated on a 1 to 5 scale (1 = almost never and 5 = almost always). Higher subscale scores represent more frequent use of a specific cognitive strategy.

Change in Adult Temperament Questionnaire (ATQ), Effortful Control subscalebaseline, post training (one month after baseline), 3 month follow-up after baseline, 6 month follow-up after baseline

Measured by the subscale Effortful Control (EC) from the Adult Temperament Questionnaire (ATQ).

Change in Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT)baseline, post training (one month after baseline), 3 month follow-up after baseline, 6 month follow-up after baseline

The Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) is used to assess burn-out risk. The score ranges from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating a higher risk of burn-out.

Change in Remission from Depression Questionnaire (RDQ-NL)baseline, post training (one month after baseline), 3 month follow-up after baseline, 6 month follow-up after baseline

The Remission from Depression Questionnaire has 41 items, which assess domains such as positive mental health, life satisfaction, and sense of well-being. The items are scored 0 (not at all or rarely true), 1 (sometimes true) or 2 (often or almost always true).

Change in non-adaptive PASAT performancebaseline, post training (one month after baseline), 3 month follow-up after baseline, 6 month follow-up after baseline

A non-adaptive computerized version of the Paced Auditory Serial- Addition Task (PASAT) was used as a measure of participants' working memory abilities. Higher accuracy scores suggest greater cognitive control resources.

Change in n-back performancebaseline, post training (one month after baseline)

The n-back task is a classic cognitive working memory task during which participants are asked to decide if a digit appearing on a screen is the same as the digit that appeared n stimuli earlier (n-back).

Trial Locations

Locations (2)

Ghent University Hospital

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Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium

Ghent University

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Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium

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