Mood and Emotion Regulation Laboratory (MER Lab)

Ketamine Emotion Regulation Study

What are we doing and why?

Ketamine is a highly effective treatment for depression. However, many questions remain about how ketamine works to improve people's emotional well-being. It may be that ketamine helps people to feel upsetting emotions less intensely, positive emotions more strongly, and emotions easier to manage effectively.

We aim to clarify how ketamine reduces depression. We hope to understand better why some people who take ketamine improve, and others do not. We also want to know how ketamine affects peoples' emotions and their responses to these emotions. This information may help us to develop ways of helping people with depression improve faster.

We are seeking people with depression to help us answer why ketamine works. You qualify for this study if you are:

  1. scheduled to receive treatment from Integration Healthcare. 
  2. depressed and have a cellphone that receives text messages with a data plan to connect to the internet.

Your Integration Healthcare representative will invite you to connect with us when scheduling your first appointment.

What will you be asked to do?

  • Set up a time to speak with our research team.

  • Before you begin taking your ketamine medication:
    • Complete an interview with a study psychologist (Dr. Yaroslavsky) and survey measures online.
    • Complete 5-minute phone-based surveys (check-ins) 3 times per day for 1 week.
  • During your 1st and 4th treatment week:
    • Complete survey measures online.
    • Complete 5-minute phone-based check-ins 3 times per day per treatment week.
  • Your total study participation time is expected to be about 9 hours.

Why participate?

  • You will receive up to $135 for completing all parts of this study and may win another $100. 
  • We will prepare a report using the information you provide and, with your permission, share the report with your treatment providers. This report may help your providers make treatment decisions that may improve your treatment outcome.  
  • Checking in on your emotions and the ways you respond to them is part of many treatments for depression. People who do so report learning more about themselves. Phone check-ins may help you better control how you respond to your emotions.
    • We will summarize your phone check-ins and survey responses. This summary can be used to track your treatment progress. With your permission, we will share this summary with your treatment providers. This may help your provider make treatment decisions that may improve your treatment outcome. 

    Research Team