Zapping the brain to rebuild memory after injury?

NCT ID NCT06077695

Symptom relief Sponsor: University Hospital, Toulouse Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Aug 07, 2026 · Last updated Aug 07, 2026

Summary

This trial explores whether combining cognitive training with a gentle electrical brain stimulation technique, called tDCS, can help improve working memory in people who have had a moderate to severe head injury. Participants will go through a 5-month program that includes memory exercises, tDCS sessions, and educational sessions. The study will compare memory performance before and after the combined treatment to see if it makes a difference.

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) combined with cognitive remediation and therapeutic education
What this could lead to: If successful, this approach could offer a new way to improve working memory and daily functioning for people living with the long-term effects of head trauma.
What could go wrong: This is a very small study (9 participants) and early-stage, so results may not apply broadly. tDCS is generally safe but can cause mild discomfort or skin irritation.

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 9 people

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

Started

Nov 2025

Expected to finish

Jul 2027

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 60 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

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

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Moderate or severe head trauma, defined by an initial Glasgow score ≤ 12/15, duration of post-traumatic amnesia superior to 24 hours and/or the presence of abnormalities on brain imaging, * Moderate or severe head trauma occurring within a period greater than or equal to 3 months, * Working memory complaints assessed by the Working Memory Questionnaire, * Patients with a working memory disorder in at least one of the following tests: Digit Memory subtest WAIS-IV (standard deviation ≤ -2) , PASAT (percentile ≤ 10), Brown-Peterson (standard deviation ≤ -2). Exclusion Criteria: * Presence of aphasia, apraxia or severe neglect demonstrated by standardized neuropsychological tests during the inclusion visit: language - oral naming of BECS-GRECO images, ideational praxis and ideomotor , neglect - bell test, * Insufficient visual or auditory abilities and oral and written expression to carry out neuropsychological tests, * Severe depression assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) * Chronic alcoholic poisoning, drug addiction, * Progressive general illness, * Progressive psychiatric or neurological condition leading to cognitive impairment, * Hospitalization for a neurological pathology since the acute phase of the qualifying event, * Patient requiring surgery during study participation. * Pregnant or breastfeeding women

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Craniocerebral Trauma head injury traumatic brain injury

As listed by the trial registrant

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

Head trauma

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

The places running it

1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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.

Zapping the brain to rebuild memory after injury?

What the study statuses mean