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NCT Number: NCT05712772

Neuro-affective Response to Light in Depressed Adolescents and Young Adults

The goal of this neuroimaging pilot study is to understand developmental differences in the impact of therapeutic wavelength light (blue light) versus a non-therapeutic wavelength (red light) on emotional brain function in depression. The main questions this study aims to answer are:

* Does acute exposure to blue light (vs red light) stabilize emotional brain function in depressed individuals? * Are stabilizing effects of blue light (vs red light) stronger for blue light in adolescents than young adults?

Participants will complete:

* A magnetic resonance imaging brain scan, in which we will examine the effect of blue versus red light on emotional brain function at rest and in response to rewards and losses. * A pupillometry test of sensitivity to blue vs red light * Clinical interviews and surveys * Screening measures for drug and alcohol use, MRI safety, and current pregnancy [if relevant] * Home sleep tracking with sleep diary and actigraphy for one week

Recruiting

Interested in participating?

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Key information

Conditions

Depression in Adolescence Depression in Adults

Age range

12 year–30 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Western Psychiatric Hospital

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15213, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Adriane M Soehner, PhD

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Allison Caswell

CONTACT

[email protected]

412-246-6652

Henry Chase, PhD

SUB_INVESTIGATOR

Kathryn Roecklein, PhD

SUB_INVESTIGATOR

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Elevated Depressive Symptoms [PHQ9≥5 And (Item 1≥1 or Item 2≥1)]
  • (If <18yr) Parent or guardian can attend the baseline clinical interview

Exclusion criteria

  • Unable to read and write in English
  • Intellectual disability.
  • Left or mixed handedness
  • Changes to psychotropic medication type or dosage in the past 2 months
  • Lifetime bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, or substance/alcohol disorder in the past 3 months.
  • Factors influencing light and color sensitivity (i.e., color-blindness, serious ophthalmological conditions, photo-sensitizing medication).
  • Factors influencing the ability to maintain a stable sleep schedule (i.e., shift work, severe sleep disorders, extremely late or early sleep schedule).
  • Severe medical illness, neurological disorders, or history of head trauma.
  • Current pregnancy or nursing
  • MRI contraindication (e.g., metals in the body, recent tattoo, claustrophobia)
  • Positive alcohol or substance use screen at MRI visit

Treatment and study plan

Blue Light

Other

Blue light exposure

Red light

Other

Red light exposure

Primary outcomes

  1. Amygdala cerebral blood flow during Blue vs Red light exposure

    Time frame: Collected during the blue and red light exposures during the MRI scan at the lab visit

    Cerebral blood flow will be assessed using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling collected during blue and red light exposures. Regional cerebral blood flow in the amygdala region of interest will be examined.

  2. Ventral Striatum cerebral blood flow during Blue vs Red light exposure

    Time frame: Collected during the blue and red light exposures during the MRI scan at the lab visit

    Cerebral blood flow will be assessed using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling collected during blue and red light exposures. Regional cerebral blood flow in the ventral striatum region of interest will be examined.

  3. Amygdala activity (loss>neutral) during Blue vs Red light exposure

    Time frame: Collected during the blue and red light exposures during the MRI scan at the lab visit

    This outcome will be measured during the an auditory probabilistic reward task, which is a computerized fMRI behavioral task. Activation is defined by blood oxygen dependent signal within an amygdala region of interest on loss versus neutral (no win/no loss) trials.

  4. Ventral Striatum activity (punish>neutral) during Blue vs Red light exposure

    Time frame: Collected during the blue and red light exposures during the MRI scan at the lab visit

    This outcome will be measured during the an auditory probabilistic reward task, which is a computerized fMRI behavioral task. Activation is defined by blood oxygen dependent signal within a ventral striatum region of interest on win versus neutral (no win/no loss) trials.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Medial prefrontal cortex cerebral blood flow during Blue vs Red light exposure

    Time frame: Collected during the blue and red light exposures during the MRI scan at the lab visit

    Cerebral blood flow will be assessed using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling collected during blue and red light exposures. Regional cerebral blood flow in the medial prefrontal region of interest will be examined.

  2. Insula cerebral blood flow during Blue vs Red light exposure

    Time frame: Collected during the blue and red light exposures during the MRI scan at the lab visit

    Cerebral blood flow will be assessed using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling collected during blue and red light exposures. Regional cerebral blood flow in the insula regions of interest will be examined.

  3. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex cerebral blood flow during Blue vs Red light exposure

    Time frame: Collected during the blue and red light exposures during the MRI scan at the lab visit

    Cerebral blood flow will be assessed using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling collected during blue and red light exposures. Regional cerebral blood flow in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex regions of interest will be examined.

  4. Amygdala-whole brain functional connectivity (loss>neutral) during Blue vs Red light exposure

    Time frame: Collected during the blue and red light exposures during the MRI scan at the lab visit

    This outcome will be measured during the an auditory probabilistic reward task, which is a computerized fMRI behavioral task. Functional connectivity is defined as a psychophysiological interaction between the seed region (amygdala) and the whole brain on loss versus neutral (no win/no loss) trials

  5. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex activity (loss>neutral) during Blue vs Red light exposure

    Time frame: Collected during the blue and red light exposures during the MRI scan at the lab visit

    This outcome will be measured during the an auditory probabilistic reward task, which is a computerized fMRI behavioral task. Activation is defined by blood oxygen dependent signal within the ventromedial prefrontal cortex region of interest on loss versus neutral (no win/no loss) trials.

  6. Insula activity (loss>neutral) during Blue vs Red light exposure

    Time frame: Collected during the blue and red light exposures during the MRI scan at the lab visit

    This outcome will be measured during the an auditory probabilistic reward task, which is a computerized fMRI behavioral task. Activation is defined by blood oxygen dependent signal within the insula region of interest on loss versus neutral (no win/no loss) trials.

  7. Medial prefrontal cortex activity (win>neutral) during Blue vs Red light exposure

    Time frame: Collected during the blue and red light exposures during the MRI scan at the lab visit

    This outcome will be measured during the an auditory probabilistic reward task, which is a computerized fMRI behavioral task. Activation is defined by blood oxygen dependent signal within the medial prefrontal region of interest on win versus neutral (no win/no loss) trials.

  8. Ventral striatum-whole brain functional connectivity (win>neutral) during Blue vs Red light exposure

    Time frame: Collected during the blue and red light exposures during the MRI scan at the lab visit

    This outcome will be measured during the an auditory probabilistic reward task, which is a computerized fMRI behavioral task. Functional connectivity is defined as a psychophysiological interaction between the seed region (ventral striatum) and the whole brain.

  9. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex activity, insula, and medial prefrontal activity, and amygdala- and ventral striatum whole brain functional connectivity (response bias; B') during Blue vs Red light exposure

    Time frame: Collected during the blue and red light exposures during the MRI scan at the lab visit

    This outcome will be measured during the an auditory probabilistic reward task, which is a computerized fMRI behavioral task. Activation is defined by blood oxygen dependent signal within the above regions of interest using a response bias metric (B'). Functional connectivity is defined as a psychophysiological interaction between the seed regions (amygdala, ventral striatums) and the whole brain.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Adriane M Soehner, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

4122466651

Allison Caswell, BS

CONTACT

[email protected]

4122466652

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Pittsburgh

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
Feb 3, 2023
Registry last updated
Aug 11, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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