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Zapping a nerve in the ear might boost motivation and reduce anxiety

NCT ID NCT07476469

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: Dr. Nils B. Kroemer 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 Results may not be published yet.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This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.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 Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This study tests whether mild electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve (via the ear) can change how people learn from rewards and avoid threats. About 104 participants with high anxiety, high anhedonia, or both will play VR foraging tasks and brain-scan games. The goal is to understand the brain mechanisms behind these symptoms, not to provide a treatment.

What this could mean

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

Active substance
transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) device
What this could lead to
If successful, this could point toward new ways to treat anhedonia and anxiety by using nerve stimulation to improve reward-seeking behavior.
What could go wrong
This is an early-stage study in healthy volunteers and people with symptoms, not a treatment trial. It may not lead to any direct therapy, and results may not apply to all patients.

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 104 people

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

Started

Mar 2026

Expected to finish

Dec 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

18 to 40 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

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: * BMI between 18,5 and 30,0 kg/m2, * between 18 and 40 years of age, and * be able and willing to provide informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * have a high risk of suicide, * have a lifetime diagnosis of severe neurological disorder (incl. ADHD), schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or severe substance abuse, posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, diabetes, epilepsy, or coronary heart disease * have fulfilled criteria for an eating disorder or somatic symptom disorder within the last 12-months, * take medication (except psychopharmacological medication for MDD or anxiety), patients have to be on stable psychopharmacological medication for at least two months before study participation (minimizing confounding effects) * contraindications for MRI (metal implants or claustrophobia) * for female individuals if they are pregnant or nursing at the time, * impaired movement ability or hearing * impaired, uncorrected vision (need contact lenses) * contraindications for tVNS hearing aids or diseased skin on the right ear.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Anhedonia anxiety disorder Depression depressive disorder melancholia mixed anxiety and depressive disorder

As listed by the trial registrant

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

Anxiety disorders (with high anxiety symptoms) Comorbid depression and anxiety disorder (with high anhedonia and high anxiety symptoms) Depressive disorders (with high anhedonia symptoms) 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

  • University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany

    RECRUITING

    Bonn, 53127, Germany

More trials for these conditions

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