The Use of Transcranial Electrical Stimulation for Hallucinations

Stopped early · Not applicable · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Schizophrenia

In brief

Schizophrenia is a serious mental health disorder that affects approximately 1% of the population. Auditory hallucinations are present in as many as 50-75% of patients with this diagnosis. The hallucinations experienced by patients vary greatly and can severely impact an individual's ability to function on a daily basis. In approximately 25-30% of these patients, medication is an ineffective mechanism for managing these symptoms. These hallucinations are known as medication refractory auditory hallucination (MRAH). For those whose auditory hallucinations do not respond to medication, non-surgical brain stimulation (NBS) has recently shown promise as a therapeutic intervention. Two specific types of NBS, called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS), seem particularly well suited to treating MRAH. They have yet to be compared to each other in large samples of patients with MRAH. The goal of the study is to investigate whether tRNS and tDCS are effective in the treatment of MRAH and if one is better than the other when compared directly.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT02715765

Run by

University of Minnesota

People needed

3

Starts

2016-07-01

Expected to finish

2016-07-01

Last updated by the study team

2020-10-26

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 64. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder
• Age 18 to 64
• Experiencing medication refractory auditory hallucinations
• No antipsychotic medication changes or hospitalizations in the previous 4 weeks
• No substance dependence in the past six months and no substance abuse in the past month
• No clinically significant head injury or neurological disease
• Sufficient spoken English so as to be able to comprehend testing procedures
• No diagnosis of mental retardation or pervasive developmental disorder, i.e. premorbid IQ not less than 70
• Ability to give informed consent

You may not qualify if…

• History of seizures or epilepsy
• History of metallic cranial plates, screws, or implanted device
• History of craniotomy
• History of eczema on the scalp
• Diagnosis of bipolar disorder
• Diagnosis of major depression with psychotic features
• Unable to give informed consent

Where it is running

• 5775 Wayzata Blvd Suite 200 — Saint Louis Park, Minnesota, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

Trial information comes from ClinicalTrials.gov and is refreshed daily. TrialsForMe does not provide medical care and does not run the studies it lists.