Mind over mood: new brain training targets Depression's repetitive thoughts
NCT ID NCT05933148
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether real-time brain scans (fMRI) can help people with depression learn to reduce rumination—repetitive negative thinking. 80 participants will receive either real or sham neurofeedback while in a powerful 7T MRI machine. The goal is to strengthen a specific brain connection linked to mood, potentially offering a new way to ease depressive symptoms without medication.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- real-time fMRI neurofeedback
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could offer a new, non-drug way to help people with depression break the cycle of repetitive negative thinking.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early, small study testing a complex brain-training technique. It may not work for everyone, and the effects might not last long-term.
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 80 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2023
- 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 65 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide 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: * Male or female aged 18-65 years who either meet DSM-5 Axis Disorders (SCID) or the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) for major depressive disorder (MDD) with a current major depressive episode OR does not meet for any current or past psychiatric diagnoses * Participants must have a level of understanding of the English language sufficient to agree to all tests and examinations required by the study and must be able to participate fully in the informed consent process Exclusion Criteria: * Any current or history of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder, neurodevelopmental disorder, or neurocognitive disorder for patients, active substance use disorder within the past 6 months * Unstable medical illness, concomitant use of any medication with central nervous system activity within 1 week of MRI scan * Pregnancy * Patients who are currently hospitalized in the inpatient psychiatric units at Mount Sinai Hospital or involuntarily admitted/court-ordered * Subjects judged to be at serious and imminent suicidal or homicidal risk by the study-affiliated psychiatrist or another MD, and contradictions to MRI
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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
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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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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Icahn School Of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, New York, 10029, United States
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