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Purpose

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) will engage reward-related brain circuitry, more specifically the uncinate fasciculus (UF) tract, which connects the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAcc) regions. Also to evaluate whether the changes in the fractional anisotropy (FA) of the UF tract are associated with changes of clinical symptoms of anhedonia and finally to investigate the moderation role of simulated electric fields (EFs) in an association between FA of the UF and symptoms of anhedonia.

Condition

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 18 Years and 50 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

  • diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder and clinically significant anhedonia - mild symptoms of depression

Exclusion Criteria

  • substance abuse/dependence and any use of drugs (except alcohol or nicotine) in the previous month of the baseline assessment - participants with personality disorder that would interfere with study participation according to clinical judgment - previous neurological conditions (epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke, etc) - any severe, life-threatening non-psychiatric medical condition - specific contraindications for tDCS (metallic plates in the head) - Participants identified as acutely suicidal or severely agitated

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
Double (Participant, Care Provider)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
active tDCS
  • Device: active tDCS
    Subjects will receive active dose (constant current intensity of 2mA) from the tDCS device for 30 minutes per session for two weeks with no sessions on Saturday and Sunday (Monday to Friday), and one additional session two and four weeks later
Sham Comparator
sham tDCS
  • Device: sham tDCS
    Subjects will receive a dose from a "sham-tDCS"that is, a device which delivers a different pattern of electric current for 30 minutes per session for two weeks with no sessions on Saturday and Sunday (Monday to Friday), and one additional session two and four weeks later

Recruiting Locations

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Houston, Texas 77030
Contact:
Jair C Soares, MD,PhD
713-486-2507
Jair.C.Soares@uth.tmc.edu

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Study Contact

Jair C Soares, MD,PhD
(713) 486-2507
Jair.C.Soares@uth.tmc.edu

Notice

Study information shown on this site is derived from ClinicalTrials.gov (a public registry operated by the National Institutes of Health). The listing of studies provided is not certain to be all studies for which you might be eligible. Furthermore, study eligibility requirements can be difficult to understand and may change over time, so it is wise to speak with your medical care provider and individual research study teams when making decisions related to participation.