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Can brain stimulation unlock the secret to erasing fear?

NCT ID NCT07800455

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: Washington University School of Medicine Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Sep 02, 2026 · Last updated Sep 03, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study asks how the amygdala and prefrontal cortex work together during fear learning and extinction, the process where a fear fades when a threat disappears. Researchers will enroll adults with epilepsy who already have electrodes implanted in their brains for clinical monitoring. Participants will complete fear conditioning tasks while the team records brain activity and delivers targeted electrical stimulation to test how these circuits respond.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
Direct intracranial electrical stimulation and fear conditioning tasks
What this could lead to
If this works, it could reveal how the brain unlearns fear, pointing toward new treatments for anxiety, PTSD, and phobias.
What could go wrong
This is a small, early-stage study in epilepsy patients, so the findings may not apply to everyone. The stimulation is experimental and carries risks from the implanted electrodes.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 40 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Expected to start

Sep 2026

An estimate. Start dates often move.

Expected to finish

Jul 2032

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: 1. At least 18 years of age. 2. Able to understand the nature of the task. 3. Able to provide informed consent themselves or provide consent through their legally authorized representative. 4. Undergoing clinically indicated intracranial electrode implantation with coverage of at least one fear-related brain region, including the amygdala, hippocampus, cingulate cortex, insula, or prefrontal cortex. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Under the age of 18. 2. Unable to understand the nature of the task. 3. Unable to provide informed consent themselves or provide consent through their legally authorized representative. 4. No clinically indicated intracranial electrode coverage in any fear-related brain region, including the amygdala, hippocampus, cingulate cortex, insula, or prefrontal cortex

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

epilepsy

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Fear extinction

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Washington University School of Medicine

    RECRUITING

    St Louis, Missouri, 63110-1010, United States

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