Can your heartbeat tell doctors how to treat depression?

NCT ID NCT06455527

First seen Dec 01, 2025 · Last updated Jun 21, 2026 · Updated 26 times

Summary

This study tests whether heart rate data can help guide a non-invasive brain stimulation technique called tDCS for people with mild to moderate depression. One hundred participants will receive either real or sham tDCS at home over 10 sessions. Researchers will monitor heart rate to see if it can predict who responds best to the treatment.

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This is a summary of the original study . Summaries may miss details or leave out important information. Before applying or accepting participation, make sure you have read and understood the full study. Curemydisease.com takes no responsibility whatsoever for anything missed, misunderstood, or acted upon as a result of our summary — we know it does not capture everything.

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Contacts and locations

Study contacts

  • Contact

    Phone: •••-•••-•••• Email: •••••@•••••

Locations

  • NYU Langone Health

    RECRUITING

    New York, New York, 10017, United States

What this could mean

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

Active substance

transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)

What this could lead to

If successful, this could lead to a more personalized, at-home brain stimulation treatment for depression that uses heart rate to guide therapy.

What could go wrong

This is an early-stage study focused on finding a biomarker, not on proving the treatment works. The sample size is small, and results may not apply to everyone with depression.

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.