Can meditation with brain feedback lift depression?
NCT ID NCT06675240
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Sep 11, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study tests a 10-session meditation practice combined with real-time brain feedback to help ease depression. Twenty-seven adults with moderate depression will participate. The goal is to see if this approach can improve mood and reduce symptoms.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- meditative neurofeedback (breath-focused meditation with real-time brain connectivity feedback)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a non-drug option to help reduce depression symptoms.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early-stage study with no control group, so results may not be reliable or generalizable.
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 27 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2024
- Expected to finish
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Nov 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 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: * moderate depression per PHQ9 symptom ratings Exclusion Criteria: * active substance abuse/dependence * psychotic disorders * bipolar disorder * displaying acutely suicidal behaviors
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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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University of California San Diego
RECRUITINGLa Jolla, California, 92093, United States
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