Inhibitory Mechanisms of Negative Urgency in Adolescent Suicidal Behavior

Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age13-21
SponsorUniversity of Minnesota

About this trial

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

Eligibility criteria

Qualifiers

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

Disqualifiers

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

Trial design

Treatments tested in this trial

  • Single-/paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation

Treatment groups

80 Participants
are divided into 1 treatment group

Sponsors and collaborators

University of Minnesota

Lead sponsor

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Collaborator