Understanding why depression follows different developmental paths
Developmental pathways model of depression heterogeneity
['FUNDING_R01'] · STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK · NIH-11324223
This project looks at how early severe life events and low reward response lead to either short-lived or chronic recurring depression in teens and young adults.
Quick facts
| Phase | ['FUNDING_R01'] |
|---|---|
| Study type | Nih_funding |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK (nih funded) |
| Locations | 1 site (STONY BROOK, UNITED STATES) |
| Trial ID | NIH-11324223 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this research studies
You would be followed from adolescence into adulthood with regular check-ins that record life events, mood episodes, and tests of how you respond to rewarding experiences. The team will compare people whose depression resolves quickly with those who develop chronic-intermittent depression, using behavioral measures and existing long-term data from an ongoing cohort of young women. They will examine family history and childhood adversity as contributors to low reward responsiveness and test whether reward system function gets worse over time in chronic cases. The work builds on an existing longitudinal sample of young people and combines clinical interviews, questionnaire data, and lab-based reward tasks.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are adolescents and emerging adults—especially young women—with recent first-onset depression or at risk because of family history or childhood adversity.
Not a fit: People with depression that began in late adulthood or whose condition is unrelated to life stress or reward-processing differences may not directly benefit from this work.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify who is at risk for long-lasting depression and guide more targeted prevention and treatment approaches.
How similar studies have performed: Prior research links life stress and blunted reward processing to depression, but applying a dual developmental pathways model and tracking reward decline over time in chronic-intermittent depression is largely novel.
Where this research is happening
STONY BROOK, UNITED STATES
- STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK — STONY BROOK, UNITED STATES (ACTIVE)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: KOTOV, ROMAN I — STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK
- Study coordinator: KOTOV, ROMAN I
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 below.