The effects of esketamine and treatment expectation in acute major depressive disorder (Expect): study protocol for a pharmacological fMRI study using a balanced placebo design
Trials August 13, 2023 Irina Falkenberg, Florian Bitsch, Wei Liu et al. 4 citations
A study will investigate how treatment expectation influences the antidepressant effects of esketamine in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Using a fully balanced placebo design with factors of treatment (esketamine or placebo) and verbally induced expectation (high or low), combined with fMRI, the research aims to uncover the neural mechanisms—particularly in the lateral prefrontal cortex and rostral anterior cingulate cortex—underlying expectation effects and their interaction with esketamine's pharmacology. Insights may inform strategies to modulate placebo response in clinical trials and optimize treatment regimens that leverage expectation and drug synergy.