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Brain zapping study aims to sharpen memory and focus across multiple disorders

NCT ID NCT04296604

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital 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 Results may not be published yet.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This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.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 Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026

Summary

This study is testing whether a non-invasive brain stimulation technique called tDCS can improve executive functions—like working memory, attention, and decision-making—in people with conditions such as traumatic brain injury, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADHD, borderline personality disorder, and substance use disorders. Researchers will enroll 600 participants and measure changes in cognitive tasks after stimulation. The goal is to understand if tDCS can help these groups, not to provide a treatment.

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) device
What this could lead to
If successful, this could point toward a non-invasive brain stimulation method to help improve focus and memory in people with various mental health and brain conditions.
What could go wrong
This is an early-stage study exploring how tDCS affects brain function, not a treatment trial. Results may not lead to a proven therapy, and individual responses can vary.

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 600 people

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

Started

Sep 2014

Expected to finish

Apr 2026

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 to 65 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

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. Male and female outpatients 18-65 years of age 2. A diagnosis of traumatic brain injury, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, borderline personality disorder and substance use disorders meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria. Exclusion Criteria 1. Contraindication to tDCS: history or epilepsy, metallic implants in the head and neck, brain stimulators, vagus nerve stimulators, shunts, pacemakers, pregnancy. 2. Active substance dependence (except for tobacco and cannabis). 3. Pregnant or nursing females. 4. Inability to participate in testing procedures. 5. Additional exclusion criteria for healthy controls: 1. Diagnosis of psychiatric of neurological disorder 2. Ongoing treatment with any psychotropic medications.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, inattentive type attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder bipolar disorder borderline personality disorder Brain Injuries, Traumatic major depressive disorder schizophrenia substance-related disorder traumatic brain injury

As listed by the trial registrant

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

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder Bipolar disorder Borderline personality disorder Major depressive disorder Schizophrenia Substance use disorders Traumatic brain injury

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

  • Massachusetts General Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Boston, Massachusetts, 02129, United States

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