Clinical trial NCT02371291: Memory Flexibility Training for Depression
Official title: A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Memory Flexibility Training to Psychoeducation in the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: PHASE1
PHASE2
Conditions: Major Depressive Disorder
Keywords: Memory Flexibility
Lead sponsor: Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit
Sponsor class: OTHER_GOV
First posted: 2015-02-25
Enrollment: 60
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Our collection of memories for personal experiences plays an important role in shaping our sense of who we are as people. These memories, termed autobiographical memories, can also be helpful in social situations, for sharing the details of our experiences with other people, reminiscing about pleasant times and solving problems by remembering what has and hasn't worked in the past. Different types of autobiographical memory are helpful to us depending on the particular situation the investigators are in at the time. Recent research has shown that experiencing depressed mood can affect how we relate to our autobiographical memories, so that instead of providing a rich source of personal information in a helpful and flexible way, the types of memories that come to mind are more narrowly focused on difficult or negative experiences. This can cause low mood to persist over time.

The purpose of this study is to test a newly-developed therapeutic training package for depressed mood (MemFlex), designed to encourage helpful and flexible ways of relating to autobiographical memories. The MemFlex programme consists of a one-to-one orientation session with the researcher to introduce the training package, followed by a workbook that is completed at home.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Currently experiencing Major Depressive Episode, indexed on the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV (SCID; First et al., 1996).
* Score of 13 or above on the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck et al., 1996)

Exclusion Criteria:

* SCID assessment indicates they are experiencing another mood disorder, psychosis, current alcohol or substance dependence/abuse.
* Diagnosed Axis II disorder or brain injury (assessed by participant report)

Primary outcomes:
measure: Depressive Status
timeFrame: Three months after completion of the workbook
measure: Change in score on the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 1996) from baseline
timeFrame: Three months after completion of the workbook
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Depression free days
timeFrame: Three months after completion of the workbook
measure: Change in memory flexibility from baseline, Score on the alternating instructions autobiographical memory task (Dritschel et al., 2013)
timeFrame: Three months after completion of the workbook
Other outcomes:
measure: Change in Rumination as measured by Rumination Response Scale
timeFrame: 4-6 weeks after beginning the workbook
measure: Change in Cognitive Avoidance, as measured by Cognitive Avoidance Questionnaire
timeFrame: 4-6 weeks after beginning the workbook
measure: Change in Verbal Fluency as measured by the Verbal Fluency Task
timeFrame: 4-6 weeks after beginning the workbook
measure: Change in Anxiety symptoms, as measured by the Beck Anxiety Inventory
timeFrame: 4-6 weeks after beginning the workbook
measure: Change in Hopelessness, as measured by Beck Hopelessness Scale
timeFrame: 4-6 weeks after beginning the workbook
measure: Change in Problem solving, as measured by the Means-Ends Problem Solving task
timeFrame: 4-6 weeks after beginning the workbook
Locations:
city: Cambridge
country: United Kingdom
facility: MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit
city: Cambridge
country: United Kingdom
facility: Cambridge and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
Study officials:
affiliation: MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit
name: Tim Dalgleish, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Raes F, Williams JM, Hermans D. Reducing cognitive vulnerability to depression: a preliminary investigation of MEmory Specificity Training (MEST) in inpatients with depressive symptomatology. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 2009 Mar;40(1):24-38. doi: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2008.03.001. Epub 2008 Mar 12.
citation: Dalgleish T, Bevan A, McKinnon A, Breakwell L, Mueller V, Chadwick I, Schweizer S, Hitchcock C, Watson P, Raes F, Jobson L, Werner-Seidler A. A comparison of MEmory Specificity Training (MEST) to education and support (ES) in the treatment of recurrent depression: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial. Trials. 2014 Jul 22;15:293. doi: 10.1186/1745-6215-15-293.
citation: Beck, A., Steer, R., & Brown, G. (1996). Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory-II. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.
citation: First, M., Spitzer, R., Gibbons, M., & Williams, J. (1996). Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-IV). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
citation: Hitchcock C, Gormley S, Rees C, Rodrigues E, Gillard J, Panesar I, Wright IM, Hammond E, Watson P, Werner-Seidler A, Dalgleish T. A randomised controlled trial of memory flexibility training (MemFlex) to enhance memory flexibility and reduce depressive symptomatology in individuals with major depressive disorder. Behav Res Ther. 2018 Nov;110:22-30. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2018.08.008. Epub 2018 Aug 29.
citation: Hitchcock C, Hammond E, Rees C, Panesar I, Watson P, Werner-Seidler A, Dalgleish T. Memory Flexibility training (MemFlex) to reduce depressive symptomatology in individuals with major depressive disorder: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. Trials. 2015 Nov 3;16:494. doi: 10.1186/s13063-015-1029-y.