Zapping the brain to bring back joy: new study for bipolar depression
NCT ID NCT05240352
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests a gentle brain stimulation technique called tDCS to see if it can improve anhedonia—the loss of interest or pleasure—in people with bipolar depression. About 45 adults with bipolar disorder and significant anhedonia will receive tDCS while researchers use brain scans to track changes in reward-related brain pathways. The goal is to understand if this personalized approach can ease symptoms and improve quality of life.
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
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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
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About 45 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2022
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
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18 to 50 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder and clinically significant anhedonia * mild symptoms of depression Exclusion Criteria: * substance abuse/dependence and any use of drugs (except alcohol or nicotine) in the previous month of the baseline assessment * participants with personality disorder that would interfere with study participation according to clinical judgment * previous neurological conditions (epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke, etc) * any severe, life-threatening non-psychiatric medical condition * specific contraindications for tDCS (metallic plates in the head) * Participants identified as acutely suicidal or severely agitated
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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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
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The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
RECRUITINGHouston, Texas, 77030, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can a Dopamine-Tuning drug lift bipolar depression?
- Zapping two brain regions may restore pleasure in depression
- Can brain activity reveal why some people with depression lose motivation and pleasure?
- Can popular Weight-Loss drugs quiet the urge to eat for comfort?
- Can a Low-Dose Add-On drug lift depression and boost thinking in bipolar disorder?