Can a brain zapper and brain games fight alcohol relapse?
NCT ID NCT05062369
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study combines a mild brain stimulation technique called tDCS with computer-based cognitive training to see if it helps people with alcohol use disorder stay abstinent. Forty people who are already in a treatment program will receive 10 sessions over several weeks. Researchers will track relapse rates and cognitive function for four months after treatment.
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 and cognitive training
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a new non-drug treatment to help people with alcohol use disorder maintain long-term abstinence.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small early study (40 people) testing feasibility, not effectiveness. The results may not apply to everyone, and the brain stimulation may cause discomfort or not work as hoped.
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 40 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2022
- Expected to finish
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Sep 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 65 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.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Meet the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders diagnostic criteria for AUD * Abstinent from alcohol use * Must have the intention to remain in the Lodging Plus program until the end of the intervention portion of the study. Exclusion Criteria: * Any medical condition or treatment with neurological sequelae (i.e. stroke, tumor, loss of consciousness\>30 min, HIV) * A head injury resulting in a skull fracture or a loss of consciousness exceeding 30 minutes (i.e., moderate or severe TBI) * Any contraindications for tDCS or MRI scanning (tDCS contraindication: history of seizures; MRI contraindications; metal implants, pacemakers or any other implanted electrical device, injury with metal, braces, dental implants, non-removable body piercings, pregnancy, breathing or moving disorder) * Any primary psychotic disorder (e.g. schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder); Participants with other treated and stable psychiatric disorders will be included * Presence of a condition that would render study measures difficult or impossible to administer or interpret * Primary current substance use disorder diagnosis on a substance other than alcohol except for caffeine or nicotine * Clinical evidence for Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome * Left-handedness * Entrance to the treatment program under a court mandate
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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 Minnesota
RECRUITINGMinneapolis, Minnesota, 55414, United States
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