Chatbot therapy may rewire brains of people who feel no pleasure

NCT ID NCT07665216

Recruiting now Symptom relief Sponsor: University of Electronic Science and Technology of China Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jul 10, 2026 · Updated 2 times

Summary

This study tests whether a friendly chatbot that uses motivational interviewing can change brain activity in people with anhedonia (loss of pleasure). Eighty college students with high anhedonia and depression symptoms will chat with the bot regularly for a few weeks. Brain scans before and after will look for changes in reward and motivation circuits.

What this could mean

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

Active substance: Motivational Interviewing chatbot
What this could lead to: If it works, this could point toward a low-cost, accessible digital tool to help ease anhedonia symptoms.
What could go wrong: This is a small, early-stage study in healthy college students, so results may not apply to everyone. The chatbot may not produce meaningful brain changes.

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

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As listed by the trial registrant

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

HEALTHY

Contacts and locations

Locations

University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
RECRUITING

Chengdu, Sichuan, China

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