Inhibitory Mechanisms of Negative Urgency in Adolescent Suicidal Behavior
Eligible age
13–21 yrs
Accepts
All genders
Locations
1 state
Healthy volunteers
No
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About this study
The goal of this study is to understand why some people act more impulsively when feeling negative emotions, which is called negative urgency. The researchers hope to understand how negative urgency relates to the way networks of brain cells communicate with one another. The researchers will measure negative urgency and brain signals in adolescents aged 13-21 years with depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Whether a type of brain signaling called cortical inhibition is related to negative urgency * Whether depressed adolescents with suicidal behavior have more problems with cortical inhibition than depressed adolescents with suicidal thoughts only * Whether the relationship between negative urgency and cortical inhibition changes over time Adolescents who participate in the study will complete the following activities at the time they join the study, as well as 6 months and 12 months later: * Interviews with researchers and questionnaires to learn about their thoughts, emotions, and symptoms * A questionnaire about impulsive behaviors and negative urgency * Computerized games that measure brain functions * An MRI scan of the brain * Transcranial magnetic stimulation with electroencephalography (TMS-EEG), a way to measure how brain cells communicate (cortical inhibition) using a magnet placed outside of the head and recording brain signals
Sponsor: University of Minnesota
You may qualify if…
- ✓ Ages 13-21 years (inclusive)
- ✓ Any sex, gender, race, or ethnicity
- ✓ For participants 18 years of age or older, ability to provide written informed consent
- ✓ For participants under 18 years of age, ability to provide written assent, with legal guardian's ability to provide written informed consent
- ✓ Ability of participant (and parent/guardian, if applicable) to read and to communicate verbally and in writing in English (in order to permit comprehensive assessment of suicide risk by study team, and to facilitate safety planning and mitigation of suicide-related risks as necessary)
- ✓ Current diagnosis of a unipolar depressive episode (major depressive episode, unspecified depressive disorder, or adjustment disorder with depressed mood), confirmed on the structured diagnostic interview (MINI or MINI-Kid)
- ✓ For participants in the Dep/SI group:
- ✓ Any lifetime history of suicidal ideation, as assessed by the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)
You may not qualify if…
- ✕ Imminent suicide risk as determined by the PI or other study board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist (based on review of C-SSRS and SSI scales and clinical assessment of participant)
- ✕ Current substance use meeting diagnostic criteria for a substance use disorder within the last month on the MINI or MINI-KID diagnostic interview (with the exceptions of caffeine and nicotine)
- ✕ Lifetime history of psychosis, hypomania, or mania
- ✕ Historical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disability
- ✕ Antiepileptic medication use or chronic benzodiazepine use (as-needed benzodiazepine use will be permitted if it can be held on day of study visit with TMS-EEG testing)
- ✕ Pregnancy or suspected pregnancy in participants capable of becoming pregnant (assessed with urine pregnancy test)
- ✕ Medical/neurologic history that would pose increased risks for transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or factors that would impede completion of study procedures, including:
- ✕ Neurological disorders including seizure disorder, history of anoxia, history of head injuries with loss of consciousness for greater than 5 minutes
Where it's recruiting
Minneapolis
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · NCT05652153 · last updated 2026-06-23