NCT04267003Recruiting
Effects of Brain Stimulation on Cognition, Oscillations and GABA Levels in Schizophrenia
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Studies of Cognition, Oscillations and GABA Levels in Schizophrenia
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 30 Mar 2026
Brief summary (registry, in English)
People with schizophrenia often have problems with attention, learning and memory and other cognitive abilities that interfere with their work and school performance. Unfortunately, even our best treatments often do not significantly reduce these cognitive problems. The current study investigates whether or not delivering a very small electrical current to people's foreheads (called, transcranial direct current stimulation; (tDCS)) might improve functioning in the front part of the brain and reduce these cognitive problems in people with schizophrenia. tDCS is non-invasive and has been shown to improve cognitive functioning in some preliminary studies. The current study will investigate whether giving tDCS during a task is more effective than giving it during rest (Aim 1), whether delivery of tDCS to the front of the head is more effective than delivery to the back of the head (Aim 2), and whether tDCS delivery will alter levels of a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain (GABA; Aim 3) that is important to cognitive functioning and may be disrupted in people with schizophrenia. Although this study is not intended to diagnose, cure or treat schizophrenia or any other disease, if results are positive it will encourage future large-scale studies to determine if tDCS can become an effective treatment for cognitive problems in people with schizophrenia.
- Status (registry)
- Recruiting
- Study type
- Interventional
- Enrollment
- 160 (estimated)
- First submitted
- 3 Feb 2020
- Start date
- 9 Jan 2020
- Primary completion date
- 31 Aug 2026
- Lead sponsor
- University of California, Davis
- Diseases
- Schizophrenia
- NCT number
- NCT04267003
What you commit to
- Study type: Interventional
- Planned participants: 160
- From 9 Jan 2020 to the primary completion date, 31 Aug 2026
- 1 site in 1 country
- Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them
Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.
Who cannot take part
Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.
Prior treatment
- Metallic implants
Other illness
- Skin damage or skin conditions such as eczema at the sites where electrodes will be placed
- Epilepsy
- Any known history of neurological disorders (including epilepsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), multiple sclerosis (MS), stroke, cerebral palsy, any DSM-5 axis I psychiatric disorder (for healthy control subjects), autism)
Other
- Pacemakers
- Implanted electrical (brain and spinal) stimulators
- Implanted defibrillator
- Hair styles hindering the placement of electrodes
- Cranial pathologies
- Head trauma
- Mental retardation
- Uncorrected vision problems that would hinder cognitive testing (this also pertains to subjects with color blindness in tasks where discriminating colored objects/items is necessary for successful performance)
- Pregnancy
- Substance dependence in the past six months
- Substance abuse in the past month
Who the study is looking for
- Participants must be able to sufficiently speak and understand English so as to be able to understand and complete cognitive tasks.
- All subjects must have the ability to give valid informed consent.
- Diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizophreniform or schizoaffective disorder
- No medication changes in the prior month
- No medication changes anticipated in the upcoming month
- Stable outpatient or partial hospital status
- Normal IQ (\>70; IQ will be measured by administering the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of
- Intelligence (WASI) test)
- Must not be currently taking the antipsychotic clozapine
Age in the registry: 18 years to 47 years · Sex: All · Accepts healthy volunteers
Sites (1)
Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.
| Site | City | Country | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imaging Research Center Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status | Sacramento | United States | Recruiting |
This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.