Testing brain stimulation during decisions in healthy adults and people with depression
Tests brain stimulation over the prefrontal cortex during emotional word decisions in adults.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Exploring the Role of the Prefrontal Cortex in Decision-Making
Key facts
- Where
- Bern, SwitzerlandSee the site
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 20 and 75 years old?
Source: NCT07080489, who can take part
Where in Switzerland
- University of Bern, Department of Old Age Psychiatry and PsychotherapyBern, SwitzerlandTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- University of Bern
- Trial code
- NCT07080489
- Record updated
- 31 August 2026
- Original description
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.Read full original descriptionShow less
Exploring the Role of the Prefrontal Cortex in Decision-Making
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
Inclusion: Written Informed Consent; Age between 20-40 or 60-75 years; Fluent in German; Normal or corrected-to-normal vision; No color blindness; Right-handed; Non-smoker; Written Informed Consent; Diagnosed with mild to moderate depression; Age between 20-40 or 60-75 years; Fluent in German; Normal or corrected-to-normal vision; No color blindness.
Exclusion: Use of psychotropic medication; Presence of magnetizable implants; Alcohol or drug dependence; Intake of benzodiazepines or antipsychotic medication; Presence of magnetizable implants; Alcohol or drug dependence; History of neurological disorders; History of psychiatric disorders; psychiatric disorders other than depression (e.g., psychosis, mania, personality disorders) or depression with organic cause.