Stress Trajectories and Anhedonia in Adolescence Research Study

NCT ID: NCT07040449

Last Updated: 2025-06-27

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

192 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-03-12

Study Completion Date

2030-02-28

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

This project will examine how multiple biological measures from the brain and the body's stress response system contribute to anhedonia (the loss of pleasure) in adolescence. The goal of this project is to see if it is possible to combine these biological measures to describe different patterns of activity in the brain and body that adolescents may have in response to stress.

The main question this study aims to answer is whether different patterns of activity in the brain and body are related to whether adolescents develop anhedonia and how high or low levels of anhedonia are over time.

This study will enroll 192 adolescents who are between 13 and 15 years. Adolescents will complete tasks three times: at the beginning of the study, 10 months after that, and then 10 months after that. In total, they will be part of the study for 20 months. At each time, adolescents will complete surveys, provide samples of spit to measure hormones and provide pictures of their brain to measure brain activity, participate in mildly stressful tasks, and complete different activities that measure how they think. The investigators will also ask each adolescent's parent or legal guardian to answer some surveys about themselves and their child.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Participants will complete tasks at 3 timepoints (Baseline, 10-Months, and 20-Months). Some tasks will be in-person, while others will be virtual.

The assessments being administered at all three timepoints are:

* Psychological measures (self-report, completed remotely): Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale (ACIPS), Mood and Feelings Questionnaire short version (MFQ), Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Emotional Distress and Anxiety, PROMIS Psychological Stress Experiences, Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS), Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale (TEPS)
* Cognitive (researcher administered, conducted in-person): NIH Cognitive Toolbox
* Brain Imaging via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
* Physiological (researcher administered, conducted in-person): Heart Rate Variability (HRV), Photoplethysmography (PPG), Impedance Cardiography (ICG), Pre-Ejection Period (PEP), Salivary Cortisol

Additionally, the following will be administered at each respective timepoint:

Baseline Assessment (Month 0):

Self-Report, Remote Questionnaires: demographic survey, address history survey, Protocol for Responding to \& Assessing Patients' Assets, Risks \& Experiences (PRAPARE), Pediatric Adverse Childhood Experiences and Related Life-events Screener (PEARLS) Cognitive (researcher administered, conducted in-person: Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence Second Version (WASI-II) Psychological interview: Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (KSADS)

Time 2 (10-Months) Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ) (self-report, completed remotely)

Time 3 (20-Months) Psychological interview: Abbreviated Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (KSADS)

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Anhedonia Stress Response Adolescent Development

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

1. The Trier Social Stress Test for Children (TSST-C)-- Psychosocial stress procedure in which the individual tells a story for 5 minutes in front of two neutral judges and performs mental arithmetic in front of the judges for 5 minutes.
2. The Montreal Imaging Stress Task (MIST) -- Psychosocial stress procedure consisting of completing sections of mental arithmetic that are 5.5 minutes in length, during which the individual receives neutral and negative evaluative feedback about their performance relative to their peers.
Primary Study Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Adolescent Teenagers

Participants aged 13-15 (approximately Tanner pubertal stage 2-4) at study entry.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Montreal Imaging Stress Task

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Psychosocial stress procedure consisting of completing sections of mental arithmetic that are 5.5 minutes in length, during which the individual receives neutral and negative evaluative feedback about their performance relative to their peers.

Trier Social Stress Test for Children

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Psychosocial stress procedure in which the individual tells a story for 5 minutes in front of two neutral judges and performs mental arithmetic in front of the judges for 5 minutes.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Montreal Imaging Stress Task

Psychosocial stress procedure consisting of completing sections of mental arithmetic that are 5.5 minutes in length, during which the individual receives neutral and negative evaluative feedback about their performance relative to their peers.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Trier Social Stress Test for Children

Psychosocial stress procedure in which the individual tells a story for 5 minutes in front of two neutral judges and performs mental arithmetic in front of the judges for 5 minutes.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* Age 13-15 years old at study entry
* Ability to understand and sign an assent form
* Meets study hearing and vision requirements

Exclusion Criteria

* Current use of antipsychotic medication
* Current use of medications that would interfere with cardiovascular or endocrine assessments
* Metal in the body or other MRI exclusion
* Central nervous system disorder or brain injury that could confound brain imaging evaluations
* Presence of a medical condition that would interfere with cardiovascular or endocrine assessments
* Impaired intellectual functioning
* Diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disability
Minimum Eligible Age

13 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

15 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Aysenil Belger, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Danielle Roubinov, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United States

Central Contacts

Reach out to these primary contacts for questions about participation or study logistics.

Clinical Research Coordinator

Role: CONTACT

(919) 351-5201

Facility Contacts

Find local site contact details for specific facilities participating in the trial.

Clinical Research Coordinator

Role: primary

919-966-2927

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

R01MH136102

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

24-1236

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.

Brain, Emotions, and Mind-Wandering
NCT05345392 RECRUITING NA