Clinical Research Studies

The purpose of this research study is to determine if application of near infrared energy to the forehead can change blood flow in the brains of people with depression. Near infrared energy is a form of light not visible to the human eye. This research study will compare near infrared laser exposure with a placebo or sham procedure. The sham procedure will look and feel just like the near infrared procedure but won’t include near infrared laser light. Participants enrolled in this study will receive four different doses of the near infrared laser procedure (t-PBM), one at each research visit: low dose, medium dose, high dose, and a sham dose, in random order. Each near infrared procedure will occur while the participant is in an MRI scanner so that the investigators can see the real-time effects of the procedure on brain blood flow.