What this means
This study is a trial that has not reported results yet. It will test whether a weak brain current changes how people respond to emotional words.
Plain-English summary written by an AI model from the registry listing.
- Status
- Recruiting
- Who can join
- Ages 20–75
- Where
- 1 site
The science
- Registered title
- Exploring the Role of the Prefrontal Cortex in Decision-Making
- Trial ID
- NCT07080489 ↗
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Study type
- interventional
- Conditions
- Depressive Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Healthy Volunteer, Aging
- What is tested
- Active high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) - anodal F3/F4, Sham high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) - anodal F3/F4, Active high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) - anodal F3/ kathodal F4, Sham high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) - anodal F3/ kathodal F4
- Sponsor
- University of Bern
- Ages
- 20 Years to 75 Years
- Dates
- First posted Jul 23, 2025 · updated Aug 31, 2026
Registry summary
The goal of this study is to examine whether high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) can influence decision-making for emotionally valenced content in younger and older adults, with or without major depression.
The main questions are:
In healthy adults, does brain stimulation modulate how people respond to emotionally valenced content during a decision-making task? What happens in the brain during modulation? Do these effects differ between younger and older adults?
In adults with depression, does brain stimulation help shift attention towards positive content during the task? What happens in the brain? Are these effects moderated by age (younger vs. older adults)?
The investigators will compare participants who receive real stimulation to those who receive sham (placebo) stimulation.
Participants will:
Receive high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)
Perform a decision-making task involving emotionally valenced words
Complete the task while undergoing a brain scan using ultra-high field 7 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure brain activity
Sites (1)
- University of Bern, Department of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Bern, Switzerland