Can two weeks without your phone change your brain?
NCT ID NCT07663474
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study is testing what happens to dopamine transporters in the brain when people stop using their mobile phones for two weeks. Thirty healthy adults who own iPhones will have their phone use restricted, then undergo a PET scan to measure dopamine transporter levels. After that, they will use their phones freely for another two weeks and have a second PET scan. The goal is to see if limiting phone use changes brain chemistry related to addiction.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Mobile phone restriction
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could help us understand how smartphone use affects brain chemistry, potentially informing future addiction treatments.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage observational study with only 30 participants. It measures a brain marker (dopamine transporter binding) rather than clinical outcomes, so real-world implications are 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
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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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May 2026
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2030
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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19 to 40 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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: * Healthy subjects with daily use of mobile phone (IPhone) * Accessible with "Screentime" application Exclusion Criteria: * Neuropsychiatric disease * Subjects who have medications for mental illness * Subjects who cannot undergo PET scans * Subjects who cannot participate 4 weeks of this study
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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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Pusan National University Hospital
RECRUITINGBusan, Busan, 49241, South Korea
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