Targeting threat sensitivity in people with both anxiety and depression
Official title: Processes and circuitry underlying threat sensitivity as a treatment target for comorbid anxiety and depression
Funded at Laureate Institute for Brain Research · NIH-11251325 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are testing whether being extra-sensitive to threat explains symptoms in people who have both major depression and an anxiety disorder.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Laureate Institute for Brain Research NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Tulsa, United States) |
| Project start | March 15, 2023 |
| Project end | December 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $424,594 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH132565-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11251325 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults diagnosed with major depressive disorder plus at least one anxiety disorder who can complete questionnaires, behavioral tests, and MRI scans are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People who have only depression or only an anxiety disorder, or who cannot undergo MRI or startle/physiological testing, are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
If you take part, researchers will compare people with both depression and anxiety to those with only depression or only anxiety using questionnaires, behavioral tasks, startle muscle recordings, and brain scans (fMRI). The project looks at two kinds of threat responses — potential threat (anxiety) and acute threat (fear) — to see which circuits drive symptoms. The team will combine self-report, physiological, and neural measures to pinpoint circuit-level differences that relate to symptom severity. Results would be used to develop objective measures and possible treatment targets for people with these comorbid conditions.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Findings could lead to better ways to measure symptom severity and new treatment targets for people with both anxiety and depression.
How similar studies have gone: Prior pilot data and related work link threat sensitivity to anxiety, but applying these measures specifically to comorbid anxiety-plus-depression is a newer, partly tested approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Laureate Institute for Brain Research
Tulsa, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ironside, Maria — Laureate Institute for Brain Research
- Study coordinator: Ironside, Maria
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.