Electricity and games: a new hope for aging brains?
NCT ID NCT07527273
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests if combining a gentle electrical brain stimulation (tDCS) with computer-based memory games can improve thinking and memory in adults over 60 with recurrent depression. Participants will be assigned to one of three groups to compare different combinations of active or placebo stimulation and specific or general cognitive training. The goal is to see which approach best boosts brain function and daily thinking skills.
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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 69 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2028
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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60 years and older
- 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.
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: * Age \> 60 years * Evidence of executive dysfunction via SUBJECTIVE COMPLAINTS (At least one subdomain of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function in Adults (BRIEF-A) at T \> 65, or At least one average score of \> 1.5 on Planning, Organization, or Attention subdomains of the Everyday Cognition Scale (ECog)) or OBJECTIVE PERFORMANCE (At least one demographically adjusted z-score \> -1.0 SD below the mean on a measure of executive functioning (Digits backward, Trails B, or total Verbal Fluency) on the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC) Uniform Data Set 3.0). * DSM-5 diagnosis of a current or past (within last 3 years) depressive episode (e.g., Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD)) via the using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Disorders (SCID-5). * Presence of 2 or more lifetime depressive episodes to be considered "recurrent." * Either stable antidepressant regimen for at least 6 weeks or no current antidepressant treatment (no plans to change treatment over course of study). * Fluent in English Exclusion Criteria: * Other psychiatric conditions via the SCID-5 (including history of bipolar disorder and psychosis, excluding comorbid anxiety disorders) * Severe depression (MADRS score \> 29) * Acute suicidality on clinical evaluation by study clinician and via response on MADRS item 10 (score of 4 or more would require further assessment) * Acute grief (occurring within past month) * History of alcohol use disorder or substance use disorder of moderate or greater severity in the last 12 months * Medications that would significantly interfere with tDCS effects (i.e., sodium channel blockers, GABA-ergic or glutamatergic drugs; see Appendix B for exclusionary list)40 * Primary neurological disorder (e.g., epilepsy, brain tumor, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, dementia diagnosis) * Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) \< 23 * Primary amnestic cognitive profile (\>1.5 SD below demographically-adjusted mean on NACC memory measures in context otherwise normal cognitive profile, or per clinician judgement) * Any physical or intellectual disability affecting ability to complete assessments * Unstable medical illness needing urgent treatment * MRI contraindications * Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in last 2 months * Current involvement in psychotherapy * Current involvement in other research studies (including but not limited to: neuromodulation \[TMS or tDCS\] or investigational drug studies). Observational studies \[without intervention\] are acceptable.
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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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Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee, 37212, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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