Zapping the brain while talking: a new way to break the worry cycle?
NCT ID NCT06369532
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether combining a gentle brain stimulation technique (tDCS) with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can reduce repetitive negative thinking in adults with generalized anxiety disorder or depression. About 85 participants will receive either real or sham tDCS during therapy sessions. The goal is to see if the combination helps people worry less and feel better.
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 85 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2024
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2027
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 70 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: * Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) * Depressive disorder Exclusion Criteria: * other psychiatric pathology than GAD or depression screened by senior psychiatrist by means of the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) and psychiatric anamnesis * Abuse of alcohol, drugs or medication other than prescribed by general practitioner or psychiatrist * no consent to participate in measurement (questionnaire, fNIRS or EEG) * Insufficient knowledge of the current language (Dutch) * Acute or chronic suicidality * Acute psychosis or manic depressive disorder * Inability to commit to 8 sessions of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or receive 4 weeks of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS).
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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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University Hospital Ghent
RECRUITINGGhent, East-Flanders, 9000, Belgium
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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