Clinical Trials Logo

Clinical Trial Summary

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common, recurrent, and frequent chronic disorder. Treatment is often challenging; up to 40% of patients do not benefit sufficiently from existing antidepressant interventions including trials of medication and psychotherapy. Up to 25% of patients manifest a chronic course of illness, resulting in a need for additional treatment options. The DiSCoVeR trial is a multi-site, double-blind, sham-controlled, proof-of concept randomized controlled trial (RCT). The study aims to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of an innovative, combined treatment approach, incorporating transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) along with a custom-made video game designed to enhance cognitive control in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Patients diagnosis of MDD receive a 6-weeks treatment with prefrontal tDCS along with an active videogame or sham tDCS + sham game for 6 weeks. Follow-up per patient is 6 weeks following treatment. Before, during and after the treatment period different assessment scales will be conducted to record neuropsychological features and the course of symptom changes.


Clinical Trial Description

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a prevalent, seriously impairing, and often recurrent mental disorder. It has been ranked as a leading cause of disability worldwide by the World Health Organization (WHO) as measured by years lived with disability. A considerable number of patients with MDD experience a chronic course of illness and approximately one third of MDD patients do not respond sufficiently to pharmacological treatment, calling for treatment alternatives. Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques (NIBS) such as tDCS targeting prefrontal cortical areas have emerged as a safe, promising, and cost-effective alternative to traditional treatment options in patients with MDD. This study focuses not only on an overall reduction of depressive symptoms, but also an alleviation of cognitive control deficits in particular, since patients with MDD often suffer from cognitive control deficits. tDCS has been shown to directly modulate cognitive control functions in healthy participants and in depressed patients. Another approach to directly modulate cognitive control functions is cognitive control training. In the present study, an engaging and captivating cognitive control training designed as an action video game will be employed. The primary objective is to test the feasibility and efficacy of this innovative, combined treatment approach for self application, concurrently applying both interventions (tDCS + cognitive control training) in patients suffering from MDD. Additionally, participants have the opportunity to choose to take part in two adjunctive assessments: a biological assessment which includes salivary samples and a multimodal imaging paradigm (structural and functional sequences, including an interleaved TMS-fMRI paradigm). ;


Study Design


Related Conditions & MeSH terms


NCT number NCT04953208
Study type Interventional
Source Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Contact Mor Nahum, PhD
Phone 0547326655
Email mor.nahum@mail.huji.ac.il
Status Recruiting
Phase N/A
Start date June 22, 2021
Completion date December 31, 2024

See also
  Status Clinical Trial Phase
Recruiting NCT05537558 - Precision Medicine for the Prediction of Treatment (PROMPT) Response (PROMPT)
Terminated NCT02192099 - Open Label Extension for GLYX13-C-202, NCT01684163 Phase 2
Completed NCT03142919 - Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) Challenge in Depression Phase 2
Recruiting NCT05547035 - Identification of Physiological Data by a Wearable Monitor in Subjects Suffering From Major Depression Disorders N/A
Terminated NCT02940769 - Neurobiological Effects of Light on MDD N/A
Recruiting NCT05892744 - Establishing Multimodal Brain Biomarkers for Treatment Selection in Depression Phase 4
Recruiting NCT05537584 - SMART Trial to Predict Anhedonia Response to Antidepressant Treatment Phase 4
Active, not recruiting NCT05061706 - Multicenter Study of Lumateperone as Adjunctive Therapy in the Treatment of Patients With Major Depressive Disorder Phase 3
Completed NCT04479852 - A Study of the Safety and Efficacy of SP-624 in the Treatment of Adults With Major Depressive Disorder Phase 2
Recruiting NCT04032301 - Repeated Ketamine Infusions for Comorbid PTSD and MDD in Veterans Phase 1
Recruiting NCT05527951 - Enhanced Measurement-Based Care Effectiveness for Depression (EMBED) Study N/A
Completed NCT03511599 - Cycloserine rTMS Plasticity Augmentation in Depression Phase 1
Recruiting NCT04392947 - Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder With Bilateral Theta Burst Stimulation N/A
Recruiting NCT05895747 - 5-HTP and Creatine for Depression R33 Phase Phase 2
Recruiting NCT05273996 - Predictors of Cognitive Outcomes in Geriatric Depression Phase 4
Recruiting NCT05813093 - Interleaved TMS-fMRI in Ultra-treatment Resistant Depression N/A
Recruiting NCT05135897 - The Neurobiological Fundaments of Depression and Its Relief Through Neurostimulation Treatments
Enrolling by invitation NCT04509102 - Psychostimulant Augmentation of Repetitive TMS for the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder Early Phase 1
Recruiting NCT06145594 - EMA-Guided Maintenance TMS for Depression N/A
Recruiting NCT06026917 - Assessing Dopamine Transporter Occupancy in the Patients With Depression Brain With Toludesvenlafaxine Hydrochloride Extended-Release Tablets Using 11C-CFT Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Phase 4