DepressionMusInDepNCT05143983
Perception of Music and Facial and Vocal Emotions in a Population With and Without Depression
A study testing Positive valence music and Neutral valence music in people with Depression, run by Hôpital le Vinatier at 1 site in France.
Trial summary
Depressed subjects display a cognitive bias of information processing and emotional self-regulation, which reinforces negative experiences more than positive ones, known as the negativity bias. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 60 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Depression
- What is being tested?
- Positive valence music and Neutral valence music
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 39 participants
- Where
- 1 siteFrance
- Study dates
- 7 Feb 2022to 2 Feb 2023
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 60 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Men and Women between the ages of 18 and 60 years old
- Major depressive episode of moderate to strong intensity, according to DSM-5 criteria, diagnosed by a Psychiatrist for subjects with depression ; GDS < 5 for healthy subjects
- Being fluent in French
Who cannot join
- - Neurodegenerative disorder
- Cognitive impairments (MMSE<26)
- Sensory loss not sufficiently corrected, compromising the perception of oral instructions or visual or auditory stimuli
- Impairment of awareness or attentional abilities restricting completion of cognitive tasks lasting 40 minutes.
- And for Patients with depressive episode:
- Psychotic or catatonic features of current depressive episode
- Comorbid psychiatric disorder other than major unipolar depressive or anxiety disorders
- Current treatment by electroconvulsive therapy
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Depressed subjects display a cognitive bias of information processing and emotional self-regulation, which reinforces negative experiences more than positive ones, known as the negativity bias. The link between depressive disorder and negativity bias has been much studied in terms of genetic, neurobiology, structural and functional neuroanatomy and cognitive sciences. It has been admitted that depressed subjects show impairment of facial expressions and prosody recognition, and of implicit memory.
Induction of depressive or elated mood with musical excerpts listening in healthy subjects influences facial emotions perception, respectively by reducing or enhancing recognition skills. However, no study to date already explored the interest of music-induced positive mood for alleviating negativity bias in depressed elderly population.
Read more
Main objective : to assess the impact of exposure to positive valence musical excerpts, on evaluation of facial emotions intensity, in a population of elderly patients hospitalized for depression, compared to neutral valence music listening.
Secondary objectives : to assess the impact of exposure to positive valence musical excerpts, on facial and vocal emotions recognition, and on implicit memory of faces, compared to neutral valence music listening.
The same methodology is also applied in a sample of control participants over 65 years to study the mood induction effect by music in elderlies.
Read the detailed description
The duration of the study, from first to last included subject, is estimated at 6 months, from January to June 2022. Each subject will participate for a period of 5 to 10 days.
Depressed group subjects will be pre-selected from all consecutive patients hospitalized or seen in consultation in geronto-psychiatric ward at Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, who agreed to participate in research. Patients will pass a basic cognitive task (MMSE) during the inclusion visit.
Healthy controls will be selected from relatives of patients admitted in Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, who agreed to participate in research.
Once included, subjects will be randomized, and will remain blind to study hypotheses until the study end.
- Conditions
- Depression
- Being tested
- Positive valence music, Neutral valence music
- Keywords
- music, depression, elderly, Emotion perception
- Medical subject headings
- Depression
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Positive valence musicBehavioural
Subjects will have to listen to 3 minutes of unfamiliar musical excerpts, with positive valence characteristics (fast tempo, major key). They will be told to listen carefully in order to then answer a short questionnaire. The listening will be followed by an liking scale (from 1 : not liked at all, to 5 : liked a lot) and a familiarity scale (from 1 : not familiar at all, to 5 : very familiar).
Neutral valence musicBehavioural
Subjects will have to listen to 3 minutes of unfamiliar musical excepts with neutral valence. They will be told to listen carefully in order to then answer to a short questionnaire. The listening will be followed by a liking scale (from 1 : not liked at all, to 5 : liked a lot) and a familiarity scale (from 1 : not familiar at all, to 5 : very familiar).
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| depressed subjects, positive valence music listening at first | Active comparator | patients with major depressive disorder will be recruited and will complete 3 cognitive tasks after listening to positive musical excepts (3 minutes) Receives: Behavioral: Positive valence music |
| depressed subjects, neutral valence music listening | Other | patients with major depressive disorder will be recruited and will complete 3 cognitive tasks after listening to neutral valence musical excepts (3 minutes) Receives: Behavioral: Neutral valence music |
| healthy controls, positive valence music listening | Other | healthy individuals will be recruited and will complete 3 cognitive task after listening to positive valence musical excepts (3 minutes) Receives: Behavioral: Positive valence music |
| healthy controls, neutral valence music listening | Other | healthy individuals will be recruited and will complete 3 cognitive task after listening to neutral valence musical excepts (3 minutes) Receives: Behavioral: Neutral valence music |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Emotional intensity score of facial expressions, rated by participants
This intensity score will be calculated for a subject as the mean of intensity scores (from 1 to 5) attributed to negative faces and reverse intensity scores attributed to positive faces. This will give a "negativity score". The higher this score, the more negative emotions are judged as intense and the less positive emotions are judged as intense. This measurement will be collected by a computerized interface in two different sessions, one for each experimental condition.
Measured: up to 9 days
Secondary outcomes (2)
Emotions recognition
Percentage of correct answers to facial and vocal emotion recognition
Measured: up to 7 days
Implicit memory
Percentage of identification of previously presented faces with positive expression
Measured: 1 day
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted3 Dec 2021
- Study start7 Feb 2022
- Primary completion2 Feb 2023
- Study completion2 Feb 2023
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for DepressionStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Model description
- Two groups of participants will be recruited: depressed patients and healthy controls. Each of these groups will be divided in two arms: one group listening to positive music at the first testing visit and neutral music at the second one, and the other group being exposed to positive and neutral conditions in the reverse order.
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 39 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Hôpital le Vinatier
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Jean-Michel DOREY, MD, PHD, Principal investigator, CH le Vinatier
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05143983
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2021-A01916-35
- Acronym
- MusInDep
- Status last verified
- Jun 2026
- First submitted
- 19 Nov 2021
- Last updated
- 11 Jun 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 11 Jun 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Perception of Music and Facial and Vocal Emotions in a Population With and Without Depression
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05143983
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- MusInDep / 2021-A01916-35
- Conditions
- Depression
- Keywords
- music, depression, elderly, Emotion perception
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 39 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Hôpital le VinatierUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 7 Feb 2022 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 2 Feb 2023 (actual)
- Study completion
- 2 Feb 2023 (actual)
- First posted
- 3 Dec 2021 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Depressed subjects display a cognitive bias of information processing and emotional self-regulation, which reinforces negative experiences more than positive ones, known as the negativity bias. The link between depressive disorder and negativity bias has been much studied in terms of genetic, neurobiology, structural and functional neuroanatomy and cognitive sciences. It has been admitted that depressed subjects show impairment of facial expressions and prosody recognition, and of implicit memory.
Induction of depressive or elated mood with musical excerpts listening in healthy subjects influences facial emotions perception, respectively by reducing or enhancing recognition skills. However, no study to date already explored the interest of music-induced positive mood for alleviating negativity bias in depressed elderly population.
Main objective : to assess the impact of exposure to positive valence musical excerpts, on evaluation of facial emotions intensity, in a population of elderly patients hospitalized for depression, compared to neutral valence music listening.
Secondary objectives : to assess the impact of exposure to positive valence musical excerpts, on facial and vocal emotions recognition, and on implicit memory of faces, compared to neutral valence music listening.
The same methodology is also applied in a sample of control participants over 65 years to study the mood induction effect by music in elderlies.
Detailed description
The duration of the study, from first to last included subject, is estimated at 6 months, from January to June 2022. Each subject will participate for a period of 5 to 10 days.
Depressed group subjects will be pre-selected from all consecutive patients hospitalized or seen in consultation in geronto-psychiatric ward at Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, who agreed to participate in research. Patients will pass a basic cognitive task (MMSE) during the inclusion visit.
Healthy controls will be selected from relatives of patients admitted in Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, who agreed to participate in research.
Once included, subjects will be randomized, and will remain blind to study hypotheses until the study end.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 4
- Model description
- Two groups of participants will be recruited: depressed patients and healthy controls. Each of these groups will be divided in two arms: one group listening to positive music at the first testing visit and neutral music at the second one, and the other group being exposed to positive and neutral conditions in the reverse order.
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| depressed subjects, positive valence music listening at first | Active comparator | Behavioral: Positive valence musicpatients with major depressive disorder will be recruited and will complete 3 cognitive tasks after listening to positive musical excepts (3 minutes) |
| depressed subjects, neutral valence music listening | Other | Behavioral: Neutral valence musicpatients with major depressive disorder will be recruited and will complete 3 cognitive tasks after listening to neutral valence musical excepts (3 minutes) |
| healthy controls, positive valence music listening | Other | Behavioral: Positive valence musichealthy individuals will be recruited and will complete 3 cognitive task after listening to positive valence musical excepts (3 minutes) |
| healthy controls, neutral valence music listening | Other | Behavioral: Neutral valence musichealthy individuals will be recruited and will complete 3 cognitive task after listening to neutral valence musical excepts (3 minutes) |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 60 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Men and Women between the ages of 18 and 60 years old
- Major depressive episode of moderate to strong intensity, according to DSM-5 criteria, diagnosed by a Psychiatrist for subjects with depression ; GDS < 5 for healthy subjects
- Being fluent in French
Key exclusion criteria (8 listed)
- - Neurodegenerative disorder
- Cognitive impairments (MMSE<26)
- Sensory loss not sufficiently corrected, compromising the perception of oral instructions or visual or auditory stimuli
- Impairment of awareness or attentional abilities restricting completion of cognitive tasks lasting 40 minutes.
- Psychotic or catatonic features of current depressive episode
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Positive valence musicSubjects will have to listen to 3 minutes of unfamiliar musical excerpts, with positive valence characteristics (fast tempo, major key). They will be told to listen carefully in order to then answer a short questionnaire. The listening will be followed by an liking scale (from 1 : not liked at all, to 5 : liked a lot) and a familiarity scale (from 1 : not familiar at all, to 5 : very familiar). | Behavioural | depressed subjects, positive valence music listening at first, healthy controls, positive valence music listening |
| Neutral valence musicSubjects will have to listen to 3 minutes of unfamiliar musical excepts with neutral valence. They will be told to listen carefully in order to then answer to a short questionnaire. The listening will be followed by a liking scale (from 1 : not liked at all, to 5 : liked a lot) and a familiarity scale (from 1 : not familiar at all, to 5 : very familiar). | Behavioural | depressed subjects, neutral valence music listening, healthy controls, neutral valence music listening |
Primary outcome
Emotional intensity score of facial expressions, rated by participants
Time frame: up to 9 days
This intensity score will be calculated for a subject as the mean of intensity scores (from 1 to 5) attributed to negative faces and reverse intensity scores attributed to positive faces. This will give a "negativity score". The higher this score, the more negative emotions are judged as intense and the less positive emotions are judged as intense. This measurement will be collected by a computerized interface in two different sessions, one for each experimental condition.
2 secondary outcomes
Emotions recognition
Time frame: up to 7 days
Implicit memory
Time frame: 1 day
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 11 Jun 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Jean-Michel DOREY, MD, PHD principal investigator
CH le Vinatier
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Positive valence music and Neutral valence music in people with Depression, run by Hôpital le Vinatier at 1 site in France.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 8 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 11 Jun 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in France. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Emotional intensity score of facial expressions, rated by participants (time frame: up to 9 days). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 11 Jun 2026.