Clinical Research Directory

Efficacy of Spectrally Optimized Light on Cognitive Impairment in Major Depressive Disorder and Its Neuroimaging Mechanisms

This study aims to validate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of spectrally optimized light (SOL) in ameliorating cognitive impairment (CI) in major depressive disorder (MDD), characterize the functional and structural features of the hippocampus （HPC）-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex （dlPFC） neural circuitry in MDD patients with cognitive impairment and examine the mediating effect of the HPC-dlPFC neural circuit on the cognitive improvements induced by SOL treatment in MDD-CI patients. Patients with MDD-CI are required to only receive selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) as primary medication for at least one week or not do anything treatment before. SOL is a kind of Bright Light Therapy(BLT). Qualified participants will be randomly assigned to the experimental group and the control group. The experimental group will receive the intervention of BLT, and the control group will receive the intervention of dim red light (placebo). The intervention will last for four weeks. The participants will be followed once in a week during intervention and in 4th week after intervention. Demographic information will be collected at baseline, cognitive function will be evaluated at baseline, 2nd, ,4th and 8th weekends after intervention beginning. and other symptoms such as depression, anxiety and sleep were assessed at baseline, 1st, 2nd, 3rd ,4th and 8th weekends after intervention beginning.Moreover, structural and functional MRI scans will be made at baseline and after four weeks intervention. During intervention, patients with MDD-CI will keep a record of daily light exposure duration, complete the daily sleep diary as well.