tDCS in People With Subthreshold Depression
ConditionSubthreshold Depression
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age18+
SponsorEducation University of Hong Kong
About this trial
This study evaluates the effects of multi-session transcranial direct current stimulation on loneliness, mood and depressiveness in people with subthreshold depression.
Eligibility criteria
This trial accepts healthy volunteersQualifiers
No histories of learning impairment, major psychiatric disorders including Major Depressive Disorder or neurological disorders
At least primary school education
Subthreshold depression
Disqualifiers
On medication or treatments within 2 weeks prior to the beginning of the study that would affect the individual's brain, cognitive and affective functions
Trial design
Design model
Parallel
Treatments tested in this trial
Personalized Experimental Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)
DeviceThis study will deliver tDCS sessions for a maximum of ten sessions in two weeks' time. Participants will receive 20 minutes of active stimulation with a 2mA intensity over personalized brain regions based on the particular neural correlates of socio-affective processing.
Sham Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)
DeviceThis study will deliver tDCS sessions for a maximum of ten sessions in two weeks' time. Participants assigned to the sham control group will only receive 30 seconds of active stimulation.
Conventional Experimental Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)
DeviceThis study will deliver tDCS sessions for a maximum of ten sessions in two weeks' time. Participants will receive 20 minutes of active stimulation with a 2mA intensity with anode placed over F3.
Treatment groups
204 Participants
are divided into 3 treatment groupsGroup A: Personalised tDCS groupExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Group B: Conventional tDCS groupExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Group C: Sham control groupSham comparator 1 intervention
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Changes in self-reported loneliness
Loneliness is assessed based on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) loneliness scale and single item, in which higher scores indicate greater degrees of loneliness.
Time frame
From baseline to after the last tDCS session; from baseline to 3 months after the last tDCS sessionSecondary outcomes
1
Changes in depressive symptoms
Depressive symptoms are assessed based on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, a 14-item scale assessing severity of depressive and anxiety symptom (score range 0 - 21 for both subscale), with a higher scores indicating higher severity
Time frame
From baseline to after the last tDCS session; from baseline to 3 months after the last tDCS session2
Changes in anxiety symptoms
Anxiety symptoms are assessed based on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, a 14-item scale assessing severity of depressive and anxiety symptom (score range 0 - 21 for both subscale), with a higher scores indicating higher severity
Time frame
From baseline to after the last tDCS session; from baseline to 3 months after the last tDCS session3
Changes in self-reported mood
Mood is assessed based on the Chinese Affect Scale, a 20-item 5-point Likert scale where participants rate the degree to which they currently feel the listed affects (scoring for each item: 0 = no at all; 4 = very).
Time frame
From baseline to after the last tDCS session; from baseline to 3 months after the last tDCS session4
Changes in brain activation and connectivity
Neural activities and connectivity in Ventral Attention Network, Frontoparietal Network, and Default Mode Network are assessed by functional MRI
Time frame
From baseline to after the last tDCS session; from baseline to 3 months after the last tDCS sessionSponsors and contacts
Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
Education University of Hong Kong
Lead sponsor
The University of Hong Kong
Collaborator
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Collaborator
Hong Kong Baptist University
Collaborator
Source ClinicalTrials.gov