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Can a Game-Like app retrain your brain to beat depression?

NCT ID NCT05601362

Symptom relief Sponsor: Christopher G. Beevers Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
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 This study
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 Results may not be published yet.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This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.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 Jul 06, 2026 · Last updated Jul 07, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study tests a gamified mobile app designed to reduce symptoms of depression and rumination (repetitive negative thinking). People with moderate or greater depression use the app for four weeks, completing daily surveys and weekly assessments. The app uses attention bias modification training to gently shift focus away from negative stimuli. The goal is to see if this digital tool can improve mood and thinking patterns.

What this could mean

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

Active substance
Gamified Attention Bias Modification (GAMBT) mobile app
What this could lead to
If effective, this app could offer a low-cost, accessible tool to help people with depression reduce symptoms and repetitive negative thinking.
What could go wrong
This is a small, early-stage study with no control for long-term effects. The intervention may not outperform the placebo version, and results may not generalize to all people with depression.

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

110 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Mar 2023

Finished

Aug 2023

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 to 45 years

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: * able and willing to provide informed consent; * fluent in English; * normal or corrected-to-normal vision * moderate or greater depression symptoms (defined as greater than or equal to 10 on the PHQ-8); * attention bias for negative stimuli (operationalized as greater than an average of 6500 ms of dwell time on sad faces in an attention bias task); * stable psychiatric and neurological medication usage. * access to a smartphone for downloading the app and a laptop or desktop computer to complete the weekly assessments Exclusion Criteria: * recent heavy alcohol use defined as a score of 2 or higher on the PDSQ * past or present comorbidity of other serious mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia, substance use disorder, bipolar disorder, etc.) * previous experience with gamified attention bias modification app

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Depression depressive disorder

As listed by the trial registrant

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

Depression

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Mary Eileen McNamara

    Austin, Texas, 78712, United States

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