Testing the Effectiveness of Cognitive Training Among Depressed Patients Receiving Esketamine Treatment

Cognitive Training to Enhance Depression Relief: Testing an Adjunct to Clinical Esketamine Treatment

In a sample of patients already receiving esketamine treatment as part of their clinical care, this project seeks to test whether we can improve depression by introducing helpful information delivered by a computer-based training protocol. This work could ultimately lead to the ability to treat depression more efficiently and with broader dissemination by rapidly priming the brain for helpful forms of learning.

Inclusion Criteria:

Any patient aged 18-80 in the esketamine clinic in the Center for Interventional Psychiatry. The clinic's extensive screening and eligibility criteria for esketamine treatment will not be altered in any way, other than imposing the study-specific age range and the two exclusion criteria below.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Patients who do not expect to remain located in the Pittsburgh area for a minimum of 1 month beyond study enrollment.
2. Patients who, in the judgment of the esketamine clinical medical director, show signs of intellectual disability, developmental disability, and/or cognitive impairment (including age-related cognitive decline) of a sufficient degree to interfere with engagement in any study procedure.