Could a Head-Zap device at home beat the blues?
NCT ID NCT07444242
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether using a gentle brain stimulation device (tDCS) twice a day at home can help people with depression who are not on medication. Thirty participants will be split into three groups: one gets real stimulation, one gets a sham (placebo) device, and one waits without treatment. The goal is to see if this approach is practical and reduces depressive symptoms.
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) device
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a convenient, drug-free way to ease depression symptoms at home.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small early study with only 30 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The placebo effect is also a concern.
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 30 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2026
- 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.
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: * Sex: female, male, non-binary * Age: 18-70 years * Diagnosis of depression: no current or past psychiatric medication (current episode and history) * Provision of informed consent to participate * Sufficient proficiency in the German language Exclusion Criteria: * Presence of contraindications for tDCS (e.g., electrical implants or metallic objects in the body such as a cardiac pacemaker or insulin pump, dermatological conditions affecting the scalp) * Neurological disorders (e.g., cerebrovascular events, neurodegenerative diseases, epilepsy, brain malformations, or a history of severe head injury) * Participation in another clinical trial on depression within the 3 months prior to treatment initiation * Pregnancy or breastfeeding
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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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Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Center of Neuromodulation / TMS, University Regensburg
RECRUITINGRegensburg, Bavaria, 93053, Germany
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