Den här översättningen är inte klar ännu. Den här sidan är just nu på engelska.

Gå till den engelska sidan

Cure My Disease

Don't miss your cure!

 Log in / Sign up

Placebo brain zaps reveal power of expectation in depression

NCT ID NCT07397858

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: University of California, Davis Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
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
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 Results may not be published yet.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This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.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 27, 2026 · Last updated Jul 17, 2026 · Updated 2 times

Summary

This study gives 25 depressed individuals aged 15-25 a fake version of accelerated transcranial magnetic stimulation (no real brain stimulation). The goal is to see how their beliefs and expectations about treatment change over time and whether those expectations influence mood, motivation, and cravings. Participants complete MRI scans and questionnaires before and after the sham treatment, with follow-ups at 1 and 4 weeks.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
sham transcranial magnetic stimulation (no active stimulation)
What this could lead to
If successful, this study could help researchers understand how much of a treatment's effect comes from a person's expectations, which may improve the design of future depression therapies.
What could go wrong
This is a small, early-stage study with only 25 participants and no active treatment. It is designed to measure expectations, not to treat depression, so it will not directly lead to a new therapy.

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 25 people

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

Started

Apr 2026

Expected to finish

Jan 2028

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

15 to 25 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: * English speaking * Able to provide informed consent (and assent if \< 18 years) * 15-25 years old * Slight-to-severe symptoms of depression Exclusion Criteria: * Past exposure to Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation * Unable to consent (due to medical condition, psychosis, substance use, etc) * Acute suicidal crisis or with active medical illness that would interfere with participation * Contraindications to receiving MRI as determined by screening questionnaires (Contraindications for MRI include metal in the body related to an injury or surgery, for example, surgical clips, metal fragments in the eyes, or piercings that cannot be removed. Subjects with braces or permanent retainers will not be scanned, because the effects on image signal are not well understood and may affect comparability between subjects and scan sites. Participants will be excluded for major neurological problems, such as seizure disorder, traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness, or sensory problems that may impair task performance, such as blindness.) * Participation in any clinical study with exposure to any investigational treatment or product within the previous 30 days, or plan on concurrent participation in other studies

Get updates

Get notified about this study

Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Depression are added.

Vår säkerhetsrekommendation!

Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor

Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Depression depressive disorder

As listed by the trial registrant

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

Depression Healthy participants

How to take part

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

  1. The places running it

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

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. 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

  • UC Davis Medical Center

    RECRUITING

    Sacramento, California, 95817, United States

More trials for these conditions

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