Brain zaps target emotional blunting in depression
NCT ID NCT05555940
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested a personalized form of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to treat emotional blunting—a common symptom where people feel numb or disconnected—in 80 adults with depression. Researchers used brain imaging to target the stimulation precisely. The goal was to see if this approach improves emotional experience and to understand how it works in the brain.
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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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80 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Oct 2022
- Finished
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Nov 2024
- 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: * (1) Outpatients of all genders, aged ≥18 years and ≤65 years, right-handed, admitted to the psychosomatic Department of Xijing Hospital; (2) In accordance with the diagnostic criteria for the depressive disorder of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V)). (3) Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS): total MADRS score ≥12; (4) The total score of the Oxford Depression Questionnaire (ODQ) at baseline was ≥50, and the answer to the standardized screening question of emotional blunting was "yes"; (5) Received at least 6 weeks of monotherapy with an SSRI or SNRI prior to enrollment; (6) Subjects who can understand and are willing to strictly follow the clinical trial protocol to complete this study and sign informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * (1) Have a history of substance abuse within 6 months before the start of the study; (2) Patients with bipolar disorder and depression caused by other mental diseases (such as psychoactive substances and non-dependent substances); (3) Have a history of somatic severe diseases or diseases that may affect the central nervous system (such as tumors, syphilis, etc.); (4) Have neurological diseases or risk of seizures, such as previous brain diseases, head trauma, alcoholism, EEG abnormalities, MRI evidence of abnormal brain structure, or family history of epilepsy; (5) There are contraindications to MRI scanning or transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment, such as metal or electronic instruments (intracranial metal foreign bodies, cochlear implants, cardiac pacemakers, stents, and other metal foreign bodies); (6) Have obvious suicide risk, or have actual suicide behavior within 6 months before the start of the study; (7) Pregnant, breastfeeding, or planning pregnancy during the trial; (8) Other conditions that are not suitable for the study object in the researcher's judgment.
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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XijingH
Xi'an, Shannxi, 710032, China
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