QEEG Predictors of Response for Psychotherapy Compared to Pharmacotherapy in Depression
The purpose of this research study is to find out if a test can predict whether someone with depression will get better with treatment. We also want to find out whether there are changes in the brains of depressed patients having different types of treatment (drug therapy vs. talk therapy). We hope that a test called QEEG (Quantitative Electroencephalogram) can tell us if a treatment is going to work, even before the person starts to feel better. QEEG is a painless test that measures the electrical activity of the brain.
In this study, we will compare treatment with a talk therapy called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to a treatment with a medication called escitalopram, or Lexapro. All subjects in this study will receive active treatment, and will be assigned by chance like the flip of a coin to either CBT or Lexapro. If you are assigned to receive CBT, you will come in for a 50-minute therapy session once each week for 12 weeks, and if you are assigned to receive Lexapro, a study doctor will see you for a 30-minute appointment every 2 weeks. Both groups will be asked to perform QEEG at five of the study visits.
If interested, please contact Jessica Sousa at jsousa2@partners.org or at 617-726-0517.
We initiate new studies regularly, so please contact us for additional information.