Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Depression

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Depression

In brief

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.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT07500064
Run by: The Second Hospital of Anhui Medical University
People needed: 50
Starts: 2026-03-30
Expected to finish: 2027-12-31
Last updated by the study team: 2026-05-19

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 65. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

The diagnosis meets the criteria for depression outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5).
Age between 18 and 65 years.
Education level exceeding 5 years, with no significant hearing or visual impairments.
Voluntary signing of informed consent and ability to cooperate with general demographic data collection and neuropsychological scale testing.

You may not qualify if…

Age under 18 or over 65.
Patients with neurological disorders such as epilepsy or severe physical illnesses.
Patients with comorbid neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Patients unable to undergo tDCS treatment for any reason, including presence of ferromagnetic metal in the head or implanted medical devices in the head/neck region.
Pregnant or lactating women.

Where it is running

The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University — Hefei, Anhui, China (enrolling)

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.