What is the purpose of this study?
Depression in older people constitutes a major public health problem that is often unrecognized and untreated. Elderly depression carries a great risk of death by suicide. The mechanisms that precipitate the clinical syndrome of late onset depression have not been successfully identified. These mechanisms must be delineated before truly effective preventive and treatment strategies may be developed.

We will be looking for people who have suffered from two types of depression; early onset and late onset. We will also be looking for healthy individuals to participate as control subjects.

We would like to talk with you if you:

• have suffered from early onset depression
  (first symptoms began before the age of 35)
• have suffered from late onset depression (first symptoms began after the age of 50)
• have never suffered from depression

To participate in the Prediction of Late Onset Depression study, candidates should:

• be between 50 and 90 years of age
• have no history of head injury
• have no history of seizures, muscle disease, stroke, neurodegenerative disorder
• have no metal objects implanted in or near the head (most dental work is OK)
• not have a pacemaker
• other, more detailed screening questions will also be asked if you are interested in participating in the study

What will happen during the study?
If you agree to take part in the study, you will make two or three visits to the University of Iowa Hospital where you will be screened by a trained research assistant. Following this initial screening, you will undergo psychiatric and neuropsychological testing and then receive a Functional Neuroimaging scan. This scan will be used to measure functional activity in your brain while you perform some simple tasks.

Dr. Paradiso will choose to have you participate in a brain scan called a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan or another kind of brain scan called a functional Magnetic Resonance (fMR) scan. You will have one kind of scan or the other, not both. The PET and fMR scans provide different kinds of information about your brain and will allow Dr. Paradiso to answer different kinds of research questions.

Will I be paid for participating?
Compensation is available for participating in this study.

What about confidentiality?
Privacy is a primary concern in all University of Iowa studies. We have designed our study to protect the confidentiality of research participants as permitted by law.

For more information about this study, contact:

Erika Holm, Research Assistant
Phone: 319-353-8514
Email: erika-holm@uiowa.edu