Mind zapping: can targeted electrical pulses tune the brain?
NCT ID NCT07752745
First seen Aug 07, 2026 · Last updated Sep 11, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study explores whether a non-invasive technique called transcranial electrical stimulation with temporal interference (TES-TI) can temporarily change brain activity in healthy adults. Using MRI scans to personalize electrode placement, participants will receive different types of stimulation while their brain waves are recorded with high-density EEG. The goal is to understand how varying the strength and frequency of the electrical pulses affects the brain, which could inform future therapeutic uses.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- transcranial electrical stimulation with temporal interference (TES-TI) using high-density EEG
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could help refine non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, potentially leading to new treatments for neurological conditions without surgery.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage mechanistic study with a small number of healthy participants. It aims to understand basic effects, not to prove clinical benefit, and results may not translate to patient populations.
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 24 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Feb 2028
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 50 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: * Medically healthy (based on self-report and study team review) * U.S. citizen or holding permanent resident status * English-speaking (able to provide consent and complete questionnaires) Exclusion Criteria: * Current or past history of clinically significant neurological disorder or acquired neurological disease (e.g., stroke, traumatic brain injury), including intracranial lesions (including clinically significant findings identified on the structural MRI) * History of inpatient psychiatric hospitalization * History of head trauma resulting in prolonged loss of consciousness; or a history of \>3 grade I concussions * Current poorly controlled headaches, including intractable or frequent migraines * Any systemic illness or unstable medical condition that may cause a medical emergency in case of a provoked seizure (cardiac malformation, cardiac dysrhythmia, asthma, etc.) * History of seizures, diagnosis of epilepsy, history of abnormal (epileptiform) EEG, or family history of treatment resistant epilepsy except for a single seizure of benign etiology (e.g. febrile seizures) in the judgment of a board-certified neurologist * Possible pregnancy or plan to become pregnant in the next 6 months (self reported) * Any metal in the head or body * Any medical devices or implants (i.e. cardiac pacemaker, medication infusion pump, cochlear implant, vagal nerve stimulator) * Dental implants * Permanent retainers * Any hair braid, dreadlocks, hair pieces, or extensions which cannot be taken out before the study sessions * Any head coverings or headdress that participant feels uncomfortable removing for the purposes of study sessions * Current use of medications known to substantially lower seizure threshold, specifically chlorpromazine, clozapine, bupropion, clomipramine, or maprotiline; or other medications at doses known to substantially lower seizure threshold in the judgment of the PI * Active scalp lesions, broken skin, or skin conditions at planned electrode sites that would preclude safe electrode application * Claustrophobia (a fear of small or closed places) * Back problems that would prevent lying flat for up to two hours
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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 Wisconsin - Madison
Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, United States