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Rapid Antidepressant Dynamics in Acute Neuromodulation Treatments

NCT06976840 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 200

Last updated 2026-05-22

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn how different types of non-invasive brain stimulation affect mood and brain function in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD). It will also study how brain stimulation may work together with antidepressant treatments.

The main questions this study aims to answer are:

How do different patterns of brain stimulation affect mood in people with depression?

Do brain networks involved in emotion and self-reflection respond differently depending on the type of stimulation?

What are the combined effects of brain stimulation and antidepressant treatments on mood and brain activity?

Researchers will compare different brain stimulation patterns and target areas to understand their individual and combined effects.

Participants will:

Receive three types of brain stimulation (intermittent, continuous, and sham) in different sessions

Undergo MRI scans during the administration of either a fast-acting or conventional antidepressant.

Complete mood assessments during the scan and for one week after each session

This study may help identify brain-based strategies to improve treatment for depression.

In addition, a subset of participants (\~10) will complete a reward-guided decision-making fMRI task for feasibility purposes.

Conditions

Interventions

DEVICE

Intermittent theta burst stimulation

Aimed at potentiating the stimulation target.

DEVICE

Sham theta burst stimulation

No effect is expected on stimulation target

DEVICE

Continuous theta burst stimulation

Aimed at depotentiating the stimulation target

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

    collaborator NIH

  • Marta Peciña, MD PhD

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Marta Pecina, MD, PhD · University of Pittsburgh

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
55 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-05-15
Primary Completion
2030-08-01
Completion
2030-08-01
FDA Device
Yes

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06976840 on ClinicalTrials.gov