An observational study in Alzheimer s Disease, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment, sponsored by Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry. Recruiting at 1 site in Germany. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-02-17.
Sponsored by Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry · Observational
With disease-modifying therapies emerging for dementia and related conditions, identifying cognitive decline as early as possible is increasingly important. This prospective, single-center, repeated-measures study evaluates whether VR-based eye-tracking pupillometry can provide a practical, non-invasive biomarker of cognitive impairment and its progression over time. Pupil responses are linked to brain arousal systems relevant to cognitive dysfunction, including the locus coeruleus, which is affected early in Alzheimer's disease. Adults aged 18-80 years will be assigned to one of four cohorts (n=35 per cohort): i) Alzheimer's disease (supported by CSF biomarkers), ii) mild cognitive impairment (MCI) without Alzheimer's Disease, iii) depressive disorder with cognitive impairment, iv) healthy controls. Participants will undergo initial assessments at baseline and follow-up visits after 3 and 6 months. At each visit, pupil responses and behavioral metrics are recorded during a pupillary light reflex paradigm, a resting-state fixation block, a working-memory task (N-back), and a reward task. Pupillometric and behavioral metrics will be compared across cohorts and related to routine neuropsychological measures (MoCA, CERAD) and available clinical biomarkers (CSF markers; blood biomarkers). The primary objective is to determine whether task-evoked pupil response profiles sensitively quantify cognitive impairment, differ between cohorts, and track change over time. The long-term goal is to validate an easy-to-use, outpatient-compatible assessment to support objective characterization and monitoring of cognitive disorders.
Cognitive performance typically declines with age and is usually accompanied by attention and memory deficits. While such changes can be consistent with normal ageing, they may also reflect affective disorders or early stages of neurodegenerative diseases (e.g. Alzheimer's Disease; AD). In clinical practice, neurocognitive tests are commonly used to distinguish age-appropriate change from pathological decline. As these tests quantify behavioral performance, they are better at detecting cognitive decline, once measurable deficits are manifested. However, they have limited sensitivity to subtle changes that can precede overt clinical symptoms by several years. This study evaluates a diagnostic approach based on pupil dilation measurements that may support earlier detection and longitudinal monitoring, potentially enabling earlier interventions.
Pupillometry provides a noninvasive index of pupil dynamics linked to arousal systems relevant to cognition, including the locus coeruleus-noradrenergic (LC-NA) system. LC-NA activity is coupled to pupil dilation via autonomic pathways, and this coupling has been demonstrated across animal and human studies. Given its widespread projections, the LC-NA system is implicated in psychiatric and neurological conditions through roles in arousal regulation, stress responsivity, attention, and memory. Pupillometry in Alzheimer's disease has often been examined using pupillary light reflex paradigms. However, simple light-flash measures may be less informative in early-stage impairment because pupil responses vary with cognitive state and task demands and do not provide a uniform, task-independent readout of LC-linked function. Accordingly, analyzing pupil responses during and immediately following cognitive tasks may be better suited to capturing subtle dysfunction relevant to prodromal processes, with light-reflex alterations potentially becoming more apparent once impairment is established. In prior work, the investigators observed pupil diameter increased with working-memory load during an N-back task. Most participants showed the expected increase in pupil dilation with task difficulty, whereas a subset exhibited pronounced atypical pupil responses despite only slight differences on standard neurocognitive measures. Building on these principles, this study uses a VR-based assessment to examine adults presenting with early, non-specific cognitive complaints. By systematically recording pupil dynamics during and following cognitive paradigms, the investigators aim to obtain readouts of LC-NA system function that may support differential diagnosis among conditions with overlapping clinical presentations (e.g. depression-related cognitive impairment vs. early dementia).
At each visit, participants are fitted with a VR headset by trained study personnel and complete VR-based assessments with concurrent eye tracking and behavioral performance recording. Assessments are conducted at baseline (T0) and repeated after 3 months (T1) and 6 months (T2). At each visit, pupil responses and task performance are recorded during a pupillary light reflex paradigm, a resting-state fixation block, a working-memory task (N-back), and a reward task. Participants also complete routine neuropsychological testing, including the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the CERAD battery comprising semantic fluency, Boston Naming Test, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), word list learning, word list delayed recall, word list recognition, figure copying, figure delayed recall, phonemic fluency, and Trail Making Test. Additional assessments include the Bayer Activities of Daily Living scale (Bayer-ADL) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), as well as questionnaires assessing subjective cognitive impairment (FLei) and childhood adversity (CTQ). Sociodemographic data are recorded, including age, sex, education (years of schooling), and occupation. Blood is collected for routine laboratory measures and blood-based biomarker analyses (including phosphorylated tau 217), and clinical data from routine care are linked where available. In some cases, cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers from routine clinical evaluation are available and linked, including AD pathology markers (amyloid-β and tau measures).
Pupillometric and behavioral measures will be compared across cohorts and evaluated longitudinally across follow-up visits. Measures will also be related to routine neuropsychological assessment, as well as available clinical biomarkers (CSF amyloid-β and tau measures blood-based biomarkers and anatomical neuroimaging sequences). Prior observations suggest that pupil dilation scales with cognitive load and that task-evoked pupil responses can differ, even when standard neurocognitive measures show only subtle differences. The investigators hypothesize that task-evoked pupil response patterns will differ between cohorts and may be sensitive to change over time.
3,041 studies on the registry are indexed under Depressive Disorder, Major; 588 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 140 is close to the median of 131 across 400 observational studies indexed under Depressive Disorder, Major.
Browse Depressive Disorder, Major studies →Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry is the lead sponsor of 19 studies on the registry; 7 are open to participants now.
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Adults aged 18-80 years will be recruited at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry (Munich, Germany) from inpatient wards and outpatient clinics. Patients have a suspected or confirmed clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, or depressive disorder with cognitive impairment. Routine clinical measures (neuropsychological testing and, CSF biomarkers, blood biomarkers, imaging) will be linked to study pupillometry outcomes.
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Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants with complaints of cognitive deficits and a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) supported by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker profile, where available.
Participants with complaints of cognitive deficits meeting criteria for mild cognitive impairment without evidence of Alzheimer's disease (CSF biomarkers not consistent with AD).
Participants with complaints of cognitive impairment and no evidence of Alzheimer's pathology; deficits most consistent with depressive disorder.
Age-matched healthy volunteers.
Task-evoked pupil dilation during N-Back
Pupil response metrics (mean relative pupil diameter in each condition) recorded with VR eye tracking during the N-back task for each condition (fixation, 0-back, 1-back, 2-back).
Time frame: Baseline
Resting-state pupil dynamics
Mean and variability of pupil diameter during resting fixation.
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months.
Reward-task pupil response
Pupil response metrics (mean relative pupil diameter in each condition) recorded with VR eye tracking during each condition (reward, control).
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months.
N-back behavioral performance
Behavioral performance during the VR N-back task, quantified as accuracy and reaction time for each load condition ( 0-, 1-, 2-back).
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months.
Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)
Global cognitive screening tool used to quantify overall cognitive impairment. Range: 0-30; higher scores indicate better cognitive performance.
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months.
CERAD cognitive battery (CERAD-Plus), norm-referenced z-scores
CERAD-Plus subtests include semantic fluency, Boston Naming Test, word list learning, word list delayed recall, word list recognition, figure copying, figure delayed recall, phonemic fluency, and Trail Making Test. The subtests will be evaluated using age-/education-adjusted norm-referenced z-scores. A z-score of 0 corresponds to the normative mean; higher z-scores indicate better cognitive performance and lower z-scores indicate worse performance.
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months.
Bayer Activities of Daily Living (Bayer-ADL)
Functional status measured using the Bayer-ADL mean item score (quotient). Range: 1.00-10.00. Higher scores indicate worse functional impairment (more difficulty with activities of daily living).
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months.
Geriatric Depression Scale
Geriatric Depression Scale, 30-item version (GDS-30), total score (depressive symptoms). Range: 0-30; higher scores indicate more depressive symptoms.
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months.
Subjective cognitive impairment (Fragebogen zur geistigen Leistungsfähigkeit; FLei), total score
35-item self-report assessing cognitive difficulties over the last 6 months (0-4 per item). Range: 0-140. Higher scores indicate greater subjective cognitive impairment (more perceived difficulties).
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months.
Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ)
Retrospective recall-based measures administered to adults. Used to determine experiences of childhood trauma. Higher scores indicate greater childhood adversity.
Time frame: Baseline.
Blood-based biomarkers
Blood biomarker concentrations assessed from collected blood samples, including phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) and Aβ1-42/Aβ1-40 ratio.
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months.
CSF Alzheimer's disease pathology markers
CSF biomarkers from routine clinical evaluation where available, including Aβ1-42, Aβ1-40, Aβ1-42/Aβ1-40 ratio, total tau, and phosphorylated tau.
Time frame: Baseline.
Task-evoked pupil dilation during N-Back
Pupil response metrics (mean relative pupil diameter in each condition; load-dependent slope across conditions) recorded with VR eye tracking during the N-back task for each condition (fixation, 0-back, 1-back, 2-back).
Time frame: 3 months, 6 months.
Between-group differences in N-back pupil metrics
Comparison of the primary N-back pupil load metric across the four cohorts (Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, depressive disorder with cognitive impairment, healthy controls).
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months.
Association between task-evoked pupil responses and cognitive test performance
Association between the N-back pupil metrics and cognitive performance measures (MoCA total score; CERAD-Plus subtest z-scores).
Time frame: Baseline, 6 months.
Association between task-evoked pupil responses and AD pathology markers
Association between the N-back pupil metrics and available biomarkers of AD pathology (CSF and blood-based biomarkers).
Time frame: Baseline through 6 months, using biomarker time points available
Change from baseline in N-back pupil metrics
Within-participant change from baseline in the prespecified N-back pupil load metric
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months.
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Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry