Probing Brain Network Mechanisms Underlying Late-Life Prolonged Grief Disorder
Medical College of Wisconsin
Summary
After losing a loved one, most successfully navigate acute grief and adapt to the loss within about 1 year, but in about 10%, prolonged grief disorder (PGD) ensues. This study is anticipated to provide novel evidence regarding the neurobiological mechanisms of PGD in older adults. The biological alterations identified here could provide targets to elucidate how currently available therapies work and inform novel mechanism-based interventions for treating late-life PGD.
Description
The objectives of this study are to (1) identify functional brain network features that differentiate PGD from integrated grief, and (2) conduct a mechanistic study in older adults with PGD to test whether exposure to 10-weeks of IY and HE modulate brain network targets and clarify how network changes relate to clinical response.
Eligibility
- Age range
- 40–89 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Male or female greater than or equal to 40 years of age * Bereavement \>6 months * Score greater than or equal to 25 on the Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG) * Presence of PGD (subsyndromal and syndromal) * Adequate visual and auditory acuity Exclusion Criteria: * Delirium/unstable medical conditions * Lifetime history of neurological illnesses: seizures, stroke, dementia of any -etiology, severe head injury, brain tumor or surgery * Serious back, joint or neck injuries within the past 3 months * Currently practicing yoga * Gross structural abnormalities on T1-weigh…
Interventions
- BehavioralIyengar Yoga
Participants will engage in 10 weekly IY classes
- BehavioralHealth Education Control
Participants will engage in 10 weekly socialization control group sessions
- OtherWaitlist Control to Crossover
Upon Step 1 study completion (week 10), participants in this group who continue to meet PGD criteria on the SCIP will enter Step 2 phase
Location
- Medical College of WisconsinMilwaukee, Wisconsin