Augmenting Single-session Behavioral Activation (BA) With Delta-beta Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) for the Treatment of Depression
CompletedNAResults postedLast updated 20 May 2025
What this trial tests
NA trial testing Delta-beta cross-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation via the NeuroConn DC-STIMULATOR MC in Major Depressive Disorder in 30 participants. Completed in 22 May 2024.
Timeline
9 February 2023
Primary endpoint 22 May 2024
22 May 2024
Quick facts
Lead sponsor
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Phase
NA
Status
Completed
Study type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
randomized
Design
parallel
Masking
double
Primary purpose
treatment
Enrollment
30
Start date
9 February 2023
Primary completion
22 May 2024
Estimated completion
22 May 2024
Sites
1 location across United States
Drugs / interventions tested
Delta-beta cross-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation via the NeuroConn DC-STIMULATOR MC
Single-session behavioral activation
Active sham cross-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation via the NeuroConn DC-STIMULATOR MC
18 and older, any sex, with Major Depressive Disorder. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.
Results — posted to ClinicalTrials.gov
Per-arm endpoint measurements with 95% confidence intervals where reported. Source: trial results section.
Clinician-rated Depressive SymptomsPrimary· Baseline, 2 weeks post treatment
Treatment response will be reported for clinician-rated depression symptom scores using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). Items are scaled either from 0-2 to 0-4, and each item is summed for a total score ranging from 0 to 53 with higher scores indicating greater depression symptoms. Benchmarks suggested at: 0-7 normal; 8-13 mild depression; 14-18 moderate depression; 19-22 severe depression; \>=23 very severe depression.
Baseline
Group
Value
95% CI
Delta-beta tACS
19.33
± 4.59
Active-sham tACS
19.93
± 4.71
2 weeks post treatment
Group
Value
95% CI
Delta-beta tACS
11.33
± 5.15
Active-sham tACS
13.93
± 6.23
Phase-amplitude Coupling (PAC) Between Delta-beta Oscillations During Task Performance of the Streamlined Expenditure of Effort for Reward Task (S-EEfRT)Secondary· Baseline, 2 weeks post treatment
Participants choose to complete a "hard" task or "easy" task. Coupling during the hard/easy decision is calculated between delta oscillations phase (2-3Hz) in prefrontal electrodes (FCz and surrounding electrodes) and the beta oscillations amplitude (15-25Hz) in left motor electrodes (C3 and surrounding electrodes). Instantaneous phase \& amplitude of oscillations is calculated by averaging the signal in the two regions, band-filtering the signal to the specified range, and performing the Hilbert transform. PAC is normalized by creating a null distribution randomly shifting the beta time serie
Baseline
Group
Value
95% CI
Delta-beta tACS
0.286
± 0.606
Active-sham tACS
0.290
± 0.516
2 weeks post treatment
Group
Value
95% CI
Delta-beta tACS
0.286
± 0.786
Active-sham tACS
0.044
± 0.655
Proportion of Hard Trials Chosen During the S-EEfRTSecondary· Baseline, 2 weeks post treatment
In the Streamlined Expenditure of Effort for Reward Task (S-EEfRT), participants choose to complete a "hard" task requiring many button presses or an "easy" task with fewer button presses for variable monetary incentives. Number of button presses is individualized for each participant. Goal-directed behavior will be calculated as the proportion of "hard" tasks chosen across trials.
Baseline
Group
Value
95% CI
Delta-beta tACS
0.562
± 0.158
Active-sham tACS
0.521
± 0.205
2 weeks post treatment
Group
Value
95% CI
Delta-beta tACS
0.504
± 0.188
Active-sham tACS
0.454
± 0.103
Adverse events — posted to ClinicalTrials.gov
Time frame: From the time of signing informed consent through intervention visit (1 week later) and study follow-up visit (2 weeks after intervention), approximately 3 weeks total..
Reporting threshold: 0%.
Adverse-event reports describe events observed during the trial — not all are caused by the drug.
Investigating whether delta-beta cross-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation can augment the effects of a single session of behavioral activation in participants with major depressive disorder.
Publications & conference data
3 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):
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Other University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill trials
Publications: Europe PMC API search by NCT ID, retrieved 10 June 2026
Drug + disease cross-links: matched in real time against Drug Landscape's normalised drug + company + condition tables
Sponsor: as reported to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Last refreshed: 20 May 2025
Drug Landscape aggregates and links these public records for informational use only. Always verify against the primary source before clinical or regulatory decisions. Canonical URL: https://druglandscape.com/trial/NCT05693922.