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Brain scans train depressed minds to look away from negativity

NCT ID NCT05169346

Symptom relief Sponsor: University of Pennsylvania Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026

Summary

This study tested whether real-time brain scans (fMRI) could help people with major depression learn to stop focusing on negative thoughts. 71 adults received either active or sham neurofeedback while doing a task. The goal was to see if changing brain patterns could reduce depression symptoms.

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 (behavioral intervention)
What this could lead to
If successful, this could offer a new non-drug therapy that helps people with depression shift their attention away from negative thoughts.
What could go wrong
This was a small, early-stage study with only 71 participants. The sham (placebo) group also received some feedback, so the true benefit over placebo is uncertain.

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

71 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

May 2022

Finished

Jun 2025

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 65 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: * gender, inclusive * adult aged 18 - 65 meets Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria for MDD according to the Clinician-Administered MDD Scale for DSM-5 (unipolar depression or bipolar II depressed) * scores at least a minimum score of 16 on Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) * normal cognition * participants must be able to read and understand English * participants must be able to provide consent Exclusion Criteria: * pregnancy (female participants) * outside age range * MRI contraindications (medical implant, claustrophobia, etc.) * use of psychoactive medication (including antidepressants) or currently in therapy * neurological disorder or any condition that in the view of the PI could impact brain data, cause depression, require medication that could cause depressive symptoms, or otherwise result in participant being unfit for study (for example, co-morbid psychotic, neurological disorders, developmentally or cognitively disabled/impaired, active alcohol or drug abuse/dependence within the past 6 months). * non-English speaking * non-correctable vision loss * refusal to provide informed consent * representing an active suicide risk

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

endogenous depression major depressive disorder

As listed by the trial registrant

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

MDD

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Center for Neuromodulation in Depression and Stress

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States

More trials for these conditions

Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.