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Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Depression

NCT07500064 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 50

Last updated 2026-05-19

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Background:

Depression is a common mental disorder characterized by persistent low mood and anhedonia. Pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments demonstrate only moderate efficacy. Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques offer novel therapeutic approaches. Among these, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) holds advantages due to its simplicity, low cost, and minimal side effects, exhibiting good efficacy and tolerability in depression treatment. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a core region of the cognitive control network, serves as a traditional target for non-invasive brain stimulation in depression and plays a crucial role in positive affect (PA) processing. Conversely, the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), a central region of the default mode network, participates in negative self-referential processing and negative affect (NA) regulation, demonstrating potential as a novel therapeutic target.

Objective:

Given the distinct roles of DLPFC and DMPFC in separate affective regulation networks, this study aims to investigate the differential effects of different tDCS targets on emotional regulation in patients with depression.

Design:

This study employed a randomized, double-blind, controlled design. Participants diagnosed with depression will be randomly assigned to receive either effective tDCS targeting the left DLPFC or effective tDCS targeting the DMPFC. Primary outcome measures focus on changes in clinical symptom assessments.

Conditions

Interventions

DEVICE

transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)

Stimulation was delivered using a high-precision transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) device (Soterix Medical, Inc., New York, USA) via five small electrode pads (1 cm × 1 cm) arranged in a 4×1 ring configuration.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • The Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

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

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-03-30
Primary Completion
2027-12-31
Completion
2027-12-31

Countries

  • China

Study Locations

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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 NCT07500064 on ClinicalTrials.gov