Memory Flexibility Training for Depression

Major Depressive Disorder Clinical Trial

Official title:

A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Memory Flexibility Training to Psychoeducation in the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02371291
• Other study ID #: Mrccbu
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 1/Phase 2
• First received: February 9, 2015
• Last updated: September 7, 2017
• Start date: January 2015
• Est. completion date: January 2017

Study information

• Verified date: September 2017
• Source: Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Our collection of memories for personal experiences plays an important role in shaping our sense of who we are as people. These memories, termed autobiographical memories, can also be helpful in social situations, for sharing the details of our experiences with other people, reminiscing about pleasant times and solving problems by remembering what has and hasn't worked in the past. Different types of autobiographical memory are helpful to us depending on the particular situation the investigators are in at the time. Recent research has shown that experiencing depressed mood can affect how we relate to our autobiographical memories, so that instead of providing a rich source of personal information in a helpful and flexible way, the types of memories that come to mind are more narrowly focused on difficult or negative experiences. This can cause low mood to persist over time.

The purpose of this study is to test a newly-developed therapeutic training package for depressed mood (MemFlex), designed to encourage helpful and flexible ways of relating to autobiographical memories. The MemFlex programme consists of a one-to-one orientation session with the researcher to introduce the training package, followed by a workbook that is completed at home.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 60
• Est. completion date: January 2017
• Est. primary completion date: December 2016
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Currently experiencing Major Depressive Episode, indexed on the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV (SCID; First et al., 1996).

• Score of 13 or above on the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck et al., 1996)

Exclusion Criteria:

• SCID assessment indicates they are experiencing another mood disorder, psychosis, current alcohol or substance dependence/abuse.

• Diagnosed Axis II disorder or brain injury (assessed by participant report)

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Depression
• Depressive Disorder
• Depressive Disorder, Major
• Major Depressive Disorder

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Memory Flexibility Training
As in experimental arm description.
• Psychoeducation
As in experimental arm description.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United Kingdom	Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust	Cambridge
United Kingdom	MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit	Cambridge

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United Kingdom, 

References & Publications (4)

Beck, A., Steer, R., & Brown, G. (1996). Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory-II. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.

Dalgleish T, Bevan A, McKinnon A, Breakwell L, Mueller V, Chadwick I, Schweizer S, Hitchcock C, Watson P, Raes F, Jobson L, Werner-Seidler A. A comparison of MEmory Specificity Training (MEST) to education and support (ES) in the treatment of recurrent depression: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial. Trials. 2014 Jul 22;15:293. doi: 10.1186/1745-6215-15-293. — View Citation

First, M., Spitzer, R., Gibbons, M., & Williams, J. (1996). Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-IV). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.

Raes F, Williams JM, Hermans D. Reducing cognitive vulnerability to depression: a preliminary investigation of MEmory Specificity Training (MEST) in inpatients with depressive symptomatology. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2009 Mar;40(1):24-38. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2008.03.001. Epub 2008 Mar 12. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	Change in Rumination as measured by Rumination Response Scale	Rumination Response Scale (Treynor, Gonzalez, Nolen-Hoeksema, 2003);	4-6 weeks after beginning the workbook
Other	Change in Cognitive Avoidance, as measured by Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire	Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire (Sexton & Dugas, 2008)	4-6 weeks after beginning the workbook
Other	Change in Verbal Fluency as measured by the Verbal Fluency Task	Verbal Fluency Task	4-6 weeks after beginning the workbook
Other	Change in Anxiety symptoms, as measured by the Beck Anxiety Inventory	Beck Anxiety Inventory	4-6 weeks after beginning the workbook
Other	Change in Hopelessness, as measured by Beck Hopelessness Scale	Beck Hopelessness Scale	4-6 weeks after beginning the workbook
Other	Change in Problem solving, as measured by the Means-Ends Problem Solving task	Means-Ends Problem Solving task (Lyubomirsky & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2003)	4-6 weeks after beginning the workbook
Primary	Depressive Status		Three months after completion of the workbook
Primary	Change in score on the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) from baseline	Self report measure of depression symptoms	Three months after completion of the workbook
Secondary	Depression free days	Number of depression free days from post to follow-up.	Three months after completion of the workbook
Secondary	Change in memory flexibility from baseline, Score on the alternating instructions autobiographical memory task (Dritschel et al., 2013)	Score on the alternating instructions autobiographical memory task (Dritschel et al., 2013)	Three months after completion of the workbook