Healthy VolunteersMOTIVACTIONNCT07251816
Neural Bases of Motivation
A study testing Cortico-cortical paired-associative stimulation (ccPAS), Bifocal transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) and Combining transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS) and oscillatory TMS in people with Healthy Volunteers and Motivation, run by Hospices Civils de Lyon at 1 site in France.
Trial summary
Effort-based decisions are essential in daily life but strongly impaired in apathy across various brain disorders. Now, significant research to unveil the neural causes of apathy is needed. A crucial corollary to this is the need to identify the brain network and neural mechanisms underlying effort-based decisions. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 40 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Healthy Volunteers, Motivation, Action
- What is being tested?
- Cortico-cortical paired-associative stimulation (ccPAS), Bifocal transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) and Combining transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS) and oscillatory TMS
- Type of treatment
- Surgery or procedure, Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 204 participants
- Where
- 1 siteFrance
- Study dates
- 14 Jan 2026to Jan 2033
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 40 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 40 years
- Participants without confounding factors such as neural alterations related to neurological pathology, whether neurodegenerative (e.g., Alzheimer, Parkinson, Huntington, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), motor (e.g., dystonia, essential tremors, cerebellar syndrome), traumatic (e.g., traumatic brain injury, medulla lesion) or psychiatric pathologies, whether mood disorders (e.g., depression, bipolarity), anxious troubles (e.g., obsessional compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder), psychotic (e.g., schizophrenia, delusion), substance-related (e.g., alcool, drug or medicine addiction), food-related (e.g., anorexia, bulimia), neurodevelopmental (e.g., autism, attention-deficit with hyperactivity disorder) or personality (e.g., borderline personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder).
- Participants affiliated with a compulsory social security scheme.
Who cannot join
- Persons deprived of liberty by judicial or administrative decisions.
- Pregnant women, women in labor or breastfeeding women
- Persons admitted to a health or social institution for purposes other than research.
- Adults under legal protection measures (e.g., guardianship or curatorship).
- Participation in other interventional research with an ongoing non-inclusion period.
- Neurological or psychiatric disorders.
Show all 21Show fewer
- Use of tricyclic antidepressants (amitriptyline, clomipramine, imipramine, nortriptyline), neuroleptics (chlorpromazine, haloperidol, risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine), or recreational drugs within the past 48 hours.
- Regular use of recreational drugs.
- Sleep deprivation (< 5 hours regularly over the last 3 months)
- Left-handedness or ambidexterity.
- Physical injuries impacting motor tasks.
- Presence of metal implants in the head (excluding oral fillings).
- Presence of implanted medical devices (e.g., pacemaker).
- Presence of metallic injuries in the eyes.
- Claustrophobia.
- Piercings incompatible with MRI procedures.
- Contraindication to MRI
- Persons who refused to be informed of eventual medical anomalies discovered by the MRI
- Personal or family history (first-degree relatives) of epilepsy or seizures. Severe and/or frequent headaches (only for participants receiving transcranial magnetic stimulation, e.g preparatory experience 1 and experience 1)
- Baldness impeding electrode placement (only for participants receiving transcranial electrical stimulation and EEG measurements, e.g experiments 2, 3 and 4)
- Facial or ear pain and/or recent ear trauma (only for participants receiving transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation, e.g experiment 5)
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
France1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Equipe ImpAct CRNL, INSERM U1028 CNRS UMR 5292
Bron, 69500
Gérard DEROSIERE, Dr, 0680872505 ext. +33, gerard.derosiere@inserm.fr
About this study
Effort-based decisions are essential in daily life but strongly impaired in apathy across various brain disorders. Now, significant research to unveil the neural causes of apathy is needed. A crucial corollary to this is the need to identify the brain network and neural mechanisms underlying effort-based decisions.
A fronto-striatal network and the noradrenergic system are involved in effort-based decision-making and apathy. Further, motor cortical structures may play a role in effort-based decision-making. However, the role of circuits connecting the fronto-striatal network and the noradrenergic system to the motor structures has been disregarded so far.
Read more
Non-invasive brain stimulation methods provide a unique and safe means to test the causal role of connectivity changes between fronto-subcortical and motor structures in effort-based decision-making.
It's now necessary to have an integrative, connectionnist framework to uncover the causal role of connectivity changes between fronto-subcortical and motor structures in effort-based decision-making.
The overarching goal of the present research protocol is to establish an integrative framework testing the causal role of connectivity within recurrent, bidirectional circuits between fronto-subcortical circuits and motor structures in effort-based decision-making. To achieve this overarching goal, investigators will quantifiy the causal role of effective connectivity and oscillatory synchrony in these circuits on effort-related behavior using a non-invasive brain stimulation strategy. Further, a secondary aim is to identify potential non-invasive brain stimulation methods that could increase engagement in effortful behavior, paving the way for translational clinical applications in the context of apathy.
The investigators hypothesize that effort-based decision-making in healthy subjects is governed by bidirectional interactions between fronto-subcortical circuits and motor structures such as the primary motor cortex, mediated by oscillatory synchrony in specific frequency bands (e.g., theta and gamma bands). Accordingly, they hypothesize that transient, non-invasive modulation of connectivity and oscillatory synchrony between these structures in healthy human subjects will directly modulate their decision to engage in effort. Specifically, five experiments will use complementary approaches to test the hypothesis.
- Conditions
- Healthy Volunteers, Motivation, Action
- Being tested
- Cortico-cortical paired-associative stimulation (ccPAS), Bifocal transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), Combining transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS) and oscillatory TMS, Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS)
- Keywords
- Healthy volunteers, Motivation, Apathy, Decision-making, Effort processing
- Medical subject headings
- Lethargy
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Cortico-cortical paired-associative stimulation (ccPAS)Procedure or surgery
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
Bifocal transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)Procedure or surgery
Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES)
Combining transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS) and oscillatory TMSProcedure or surgery
Transcranial electrical stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)Procedure or surgery
Transcranial electrical stimulation
Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS)Procedure or surgery
Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS)
MRIProcedure or surgery
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
MEGProcedure or surgery
Magnetoencephalography
PupillometryProcedure or surgery
Measurement and analysis of changes in pupil diameter over time, providing a non-invasive and straightforward method to investigate physiological and psychological processes. Using an eye tracker or pupillometer equipped with infrared cameras, pupil size is measured with high precision and temporal resolution. Pupil responses serve as a proxy for effort invigoration and are linked to multiple neuromodulatory systems, including the noradrenergic system. Recordings will be conducted throughout both experiments, with participants instructed to minimize movements and blinking to ensure data quality.
Neuropsychological scalesBehavioural
Different neuropsychological scales will be administered to assess various psychological and behavioral dimensions relevant to the study, such as: the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES): To evaluate levels of apathy ; the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS): To assess depression, anxiety, and stress ; and the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS): To evaluate the inability to experience pleasure.
EEGProcedure or surgery
Electroencephalography
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Experiment 1 | Experimental | First, participant will undergo a structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Then, participant will come to the scanner for 3 sessions. In each of the three sessions, participant will first perform the effort-based decision-making task in the functional (f)MRI scanner to establish baseline measures of decision behavior and connectivity. Following this, cortico-cortical paired associative stimulation will be applied using one of three conditions:
1. the supplementary motor area will be stimulated first, followed by the motor cortex.
2. the motor cortex will be stimulated first, followed by the supplementary motor area.
3. control stimulation, where the supplementary motor area will be stimulated first, followed by the motor cortex with a minimal 1 ms delay, which will not modulate effective connectivity.
After stimulation, participant will again perform the effort-based decision-making task in the fMRI scanner. Receives: Procedure: Cortico-cortical paired-associative stimulation (ccPAS); Procedure: MRI; Procedure: Pupillometry; Behavioral: Neuropsychological scales |
| Experiment 2 | Experimental | First, participant will undergo a structural MRI scan. Then, participant will come for three sessions. In each session, participants will begin by performing the effort-based decision-making task while their baseline behavioral and neural activity is recorded using electroencephalography (EEG). Following this initial task, bifocal transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) will be applied under one of three conditions:
1. real, in-phase stimulation to synchronize oscillations between the supplementary motor area and motor cortex;
2. real, in-phase stimulation to synchronize oscillations between the orbitofrontal cortex and motor cortex;
3. control stimulation, where oscillations between the supplementary motor area and the motor cortex are applied in antiphase.
Participant will perform the decision-making task during the stimulation. After the stimulation, participant will repeat the decision-making task with EEG recording. Receives: Procedure: Bifocal transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS); Procedure: MRI; Procedure: Pupillometry; Behavioral: Neuropsychological scales; Procedure: EEG |
| Experiment 3 | Experimental | First, participant will undergo a structural MRI scan. Then, participants will come to the lab to record electroencephalography (EEG) for three sessions. In each session, participant will begin by performing the effort-based decision-making task with EEG recording. Following this initial task, combined oscillatory magnetic stimulation and temporal interference stimulation will be applied under one of three conditions:
1. real oscillatory magnetic stimulation combined with real temporal interference stimulation;
2. control oscillatory magnetic stimulation (using a control coil, making the same noise as a real stimulation) combined with real temporal interference stimulation;
3. both control oscillatory magnetic stimulation and a control temporal interference stimulation as a control condition.
Participant will perform the decision-making task during stimulation. After the stimulation, participant will repeat the decision-making task with EEG recording. Receives: Procedure: Combining transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS) and oscillatory TMS; Procedure: MRI; Procedure: Pupillometry; Behavioral: Neuropsychological scales; Procedure: EEG |
| Experiment 4 | Experimental | Participant will come to the MRI facilities for three sessions. In each session, participants will begin by performing the effort-based decision-making task while their baseline behavioral and neural activity is recorded using fMRI. Following this initial task, transcranial direct current stimulation will be applied under one of three conditions:
1. real anodal stimulation,
2. real cathodal stimulation,
3. control stimulation. Participant will perform the decision-making task during stimulation. Further, stimulation will be realized in the scanner using an MRI-compatible set-up, to directly measured the changes in neural activity induced by the stimulation.
After the stimulation, participants will repeat the decision-making task with fMRI recording. Receives: Procedure: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS); Procedure: MRI; Procedure: Pupillometry; Behavioral: Neuropsychological scales |
| Experiment 5 | Experimental | Participant will come to the MRI facilities for one experimental session. In this single session, participant will first perform the task while transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation will be applied under one of two conditions in separate blocks of trials:
1. real stimulation, aimed at modulating the activity of the locus coeruleus and influencing the noradrenergic system;
2. control stimulation, which serves as a control to account for non-specific effects of the procedure.
During the stimulation, participant will continue performing the decision-making task. Receives: Procedure: Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS); Procedure: MRI; Procedure: Pupillometry; Behavioral: Neuropsychological scales |
| Preparatory experiment 1 | Experimental | First, each participant will undergo a structural magnetic resonance imaging session at the CERMEP. The acquired data will be used for neuro-navigation, ensuring precise targeting of brain regions during the paired-pulse stimulation procedure.
Then, participants will perform the effort-based decision-making task while paired-pulse stimulation is applied during the decision-making period. The stimulation will target circuits connecting the supplementary motor area and the motor cortex. Test pulses will be delivered to the motor cortex, either alone or preceded by a conditioning pulse to the supplementary motor area. These conditioned and unconditioned stimulations will occur at random intervals during the decision-making phase of the task. Motor-evoked potentials will be recorded with surface electromyography throughout the decision-making period. Receives: Procedure: Cortico-cortical paired-associative stimulation (ccPAS); Procedure: MRI; Procedure: Pupillometry; Behavioral: Neuropsychological scales |
| Preparatory experiment 2 | Experimental | First, participants will perform the effort-based decision-making task while MEG is used to record neural oscillatory activity (one session). This recording will take place at the MEG facility of the CERMEP, ensuring high temporal and spatial precision in capturing brain dynamics during task performance.
Then, each of the participants will undergo a structural MRI scan that will be used to improve source localization during MEG data processing. Receives: Procedure: MRI; Procedure: MEG; Procedure: Pupillometry; Behavioral: Neuropsychological scales |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Acceptance rates (from 0 to 100 % of acceptance) for behavioral outcomes. Connectivity and oscillatory changes for neural activity
Acceptance rate is the participant's willingness to engage in effortful tasks for rewards and reaction times measure the rapidity to approach or avoid the effort.
Connectivity and oscillatory changes will be analyses with imaging data
Measured: Up to 6 months
Reaction times (in ms) for behavioral outcomes. Connectivity and oscillatory changes for neural activity
Acceptance rate is the participant's willingness to engage in effortful tasks for rewards and reaction times measure the rapidity to approach or avoid the effort.
Connectivity and oscillatory changes will be analyses with imaging data
Measured: Up to 6 months
Secondary outcomes (2)
fMRI connectivity
fMRI-measured effective connectivity between cerebral structures
Measured: Up to 6 months
EEG-measured synchrony
Measured synchrony as frequency coherence between cortical structures
Measured: Up to 6 months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted26 Nov 2025
- Study start14 Jan 2026
- Primary completionJan 2033 (estimated)
- Study completionJan 2033 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Healthy VolunteersStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Hospices Civils de LyonThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 204 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Hospices Civils de Lyon
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07251816
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 69HCL25_0205
- Other IDs
- 2025-A00984-45
- Acronym
- MOTIVACTION
- Status last verified
- Jan 2026
- First submitted
- 1 Sep 2025
- Last updated
- 22 Jan 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 22 Jan 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Neural Bases of Motivation
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07251816
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- MOTIVACTION / 69HCL25_0205
- Conditions
- Healthy Volunteers, Motivation, Action
- Keywords
- Healthy volunteers, Motivation, Apathy, Decision-making, Effort processing
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 204 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Hospices Civils de LyonUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 14 Jan 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- Jan 2033 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Jan 2033 (estimated)
- First posted
- 26 Nov 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Effort-based decisions are essential in daily life but strongly impaired in apathy across various brain disorders. Now, significant research to unveil the neural causes of apathy is needed. A crucial corollary to this is the need to identify the brain network and neural mechanisms underlying effort-based decisions.
A fronto-striatal network and the noradrenergic system are involved in effort-based decision-making and apathy. Further, motor cortical structures may play a role in effort-based decision-making. However, the role of circuits connecting the fronto-striatal network and the noradrenergic system to the motor structures has been disregarded so far.
Non-invasive brain stimulation methods provide a unique and safe means to test the causal role of connectivity changes between fronto-subcortical and motor structures in effort-based decision-making.
It's now necessary to have an integrative, connectionnist framework to uncover the causal role of connectivity changes between fronto-subcortical and motor structures in effort-based decision-making.
The overarching goal of the present research protocol is to establish an integrative framework testing the causal role of connectivity within recurrent, bidirectional circuits between fronto-subcortical circuits and motor structures in effort-based decision-making. To achieve this overarching goal, investigators will quantifiy the causal role of effective connectivity and oscillatory synchrony in these circuits on effort-related behavior using a non-invasive brain stimulation strategy. Further, a secondary aim is to identify potential non-invasive brain stimulation methods that could increase engagement in effortful behavior, paving the way for translational clinical applications in the context of apathy.
The investigators hypothesize that effort-based decision-making in healthy subjects is governed by bidirectional interactions between fronto-subcortical circuits and motor structures such as the primary motor cortex, mediated by oscillatory synchrony in specific frequency bands (e.g., theta and gamma bands). Accordingly, they hypothesize that transient, non-invasive modulation of connectivity and oscillatory synchrony between these structures in healthy human subjects will directly modulate their decision to engage in effort. Specifically, five experiments will use complementary approaches to test the hypothesis.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind (participant, outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 7
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Experiment 1 | Experimental | Procedure: Cortico-cortical paired-associative stimulation (ccPAS), Procedure: MRI, Procedure: Pupillometry, Behavioral: Neuropsychological scalesFirst, participant will undergo a structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Then, participant will come to the scanner for 3 sessions. In each of the three sessions, participant will first perform the effort-based decision-making task in the functional (f)MRI scanner to establish baseline measures of decision behavior and connectivity. Following this, cortico-cortical paired associative stimulation will be applied using one of three conditions: 1. the supplementary motor area will be stimulated first, followed by the motor cortex. 2. the motor cortex will be stimulated first, followed by the supplementary motor area. 3. control stimulation, where the supplementary motor area will be stimulated first, followed by the motor cortex with a minimal 1 ms delay, which will not modulate effective connectivity. After stimulation, participant will again perform the effort-based decision-making task in the fMRI scanner. |
| Experiment 2 | Experimental | Procedure: Bifocal transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), Procedure: MRI, Procedure: Pupillometry, Behavioral: Neuropsychological scales, Procedure: EEGFirst, participant will undergo a structural MRI scan. Then, participant will come for three sessions. In each session, participants will begin by performing the effort-based decision-making task while their baseline behavioral and neural activity is recorded using electroencephalography (EEG). Following this initial task, bifocal transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) will be applied under one of three conditions: 1. real, in-phase stimulation to synchronize oscillations between the supplementary motor area and motor cortex; 2. real, in-phase stimulation to synchronize oscillations between the orbitofrontal cortex and motor cortex; 3. control stimulation, where oscillations between the supplementary motor area and the motor cortex are applied in antiphase. Participant will perform the decision-making task during the stimulation. After the stimulation, participant will repeat the decision-making task with EEG recording. |
| Experiment 3 | Experimental | Procedure: Combining transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS) and oscillatory TMS, Procedure: MRI, Procedure: Pupillometry, Behavioral: Neuropsychological scales, Procedure: EEGFirst, participant will undergo a structural MRI scan. Then, participants will come to the lab to record electroencephalography (EEG) for three sessions. In each session, participant will begin by performing the effort-based decision-making task with EEG recording. Following this initial task, combined oscillatory magnetic stimulation and temporal interference stimulation will be applied under one of three conditions: 1. real oscillatory magnetic stimulation combined with real temporal interference stimulation; 2. control oscillatory magnetic stimulation (using a control coil, making the same noise as a real stimulation) combined with real temporal interference stimulation; 3. both control oscillatory magnetic stimulation and a control temporal interference stimulation as a control condition. Participant will perform the decision-making task during stimulation. After the stimulation, participant will repeat the decision-making task with EEG recording. |
| Experiment 4 | Experimental | Procedure: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), Procedure: MRI, Procedure: Pupillometry, Behavioral: Neuropsychological scalesParticipant will come to the MRI facilities for three sessions. In each session, participants will begin by performing the effort-based decision-making task while their baseline behavioral and neural activity is recorded using fMRI. Following this initial task, transcranial direct current stimulation will be applied under one of three conditions: 1. real anodal stimulation, 2. real cathodal stimulation, 3. control stimulation. Participant will perform the decision-making task during stimulation. Further, stimulation will be realized in the scanner using an MRI-compatible set-up, to directly measured the changes in neural activity induced by the stimulation. After the stimulation, participants will repeat the decision-making task with fMRI recording. |
| Experiment 5 | Experimental | Procedure: Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS), Procedure: MRI, Procedure: Pupillometry, Behavioral: Neuropsychological scalesParticipant will come to the MRI facilities for one experimental session. In this single session, participant will first perform the task while transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation will be applied under one of two conditions in separate blocks of trials: 1. real stimulation, aimed at modulating the activity of the locus coeruleus and influencing the noradrenergic system; 2. control stimulation, which serves as a control to account for non-specific effects of the procedure. During the stimulation, participant will continue performing the decision-making task. |
| Preparatory experiment 1 | Experimental | Procedure: Cortico-cortical paired-associative stimulation (ccPAS), Procedure: MRI, Procedure: Pupillometry, Behavioral: Neuropsychological scalesFirst, each participant will undergo a structural magnetic resonance imaging session at the CERMEP. The acquired data will be used for neuro-navigation, ensuring precise targeting of brain regions during the paired-pulse stimulation procedure. Then, participants will perform the effort-based decision-making task while paired-pulse stimulation is applied during the decision-making period. The stimulation will target circuits connecting the supplementary motor area and the motor cortex. Test pulses will be delivered to the motor cortex, either alone or preceded by a conditioning pulse to the supplementary motor area. These conditioned and unconditioned stimulations will occur at random intervals during the decision-making phase of the task. Motor-evoked potentials will be recorded with surface electromyography throughout the decision-making period. |
| Preparatory experiment 2 | Experimental | Procedure: MRI, Procedure: MEG, Procedure: Pupillometry, Behavioral: Neuropsychological scalesFirst, participants will perform the effort-based decision-making task while MEG is used to record neural oscillatory activity (one session). This recording will take place at the MEG facility of the CERMEP, ensuring high temporal and spatial precision in capturing brain dynamics during task performance. Then, each of the participants will undergo a structural MRI scan that will be used to improve source localization during MEG data processing. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 40 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 40 years
- Participants without confounding factors such as neural alterations related to neurological pathology, whether neurodegenerative (e.g., Alzheimer, Parkinson, Huntington, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), motor (e.g., dystonia, essential tremors, cerebellar syndrome), traumatic (e.g., traumatic brain injury, medulla lesion) or psychiatric pathologies, whether mood disorders (e.g., depression, bipolarity), anxious troubles (e.g., obsessional compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder), psychotic (e.g., schizophrenia, delusion), substance-related (e.g., alcool, drug or medicine addiction), food-related (e.g., anorexia, bulimia), neurodevelopmental (e.g., autism, attention-deficit with hyperactivity disorder) or personality (e.g., borderline personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder).
- Participants affiliated with a compulsory social security scheme.
Key exclusion criteria (21 listed)
- Persons deprived of liberty by judicial or administrative decisions.
- Pregnant women, women in labor or breastfeeding women
- Persons admitted to a health or social institution for purposes other than research.
- Adults under legal protection measures (e.g., guardianship or curatorship).
- Participation in other interventional research with an ongoing non-inclusion period.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Cortico-cortical paired-associative stimulation (ccPAS)Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) | Procedure or surgery | Experiment 1, Preparatory experiment 1 |
| Bifocal transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS)Transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) | Procedure or surgery | Experiment 2 |
| Combining transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS) and oscillatory TMSTranscranial electrical stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation | Procedure or surgery | Experiment 3 |
| Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)Transcranial electrical stimulation | Procedure or surgery | Experiment 4 |
| Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS)Transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS) | Procedure or surgery | Experiment 5 |
| MRIMagnetic Resonance Imaging | Procedure or surgery | Experiment 1, Experiment 2, Experiment 3, Experiment 4, Experiment 5, Preparatory experiment 1, Preparatory experiment 2 |
| MEGMagnetoencephalography | Procedure or surgery | Preparatory experiment 2 |
| PupillometryMeasurement and analysis of changes in pupil diameter over time, providing a non-invasive and straightforward method to investigate physiological and psychological processes. Using an eye tracker or pupillometer equipped with infrared cameras, pupil size is measured with high precision and temporal resolution. Pupil responses serve as a proxy for effort invigoration and are linked to multiple neuromodulatory systems, including the noradrenergic system. Recordings will be conducted throughout both experiments, with participants instructed to minimize movements and blinking to ensure data quality. | Procedure or surgery | Experiment 1, Experiment 2, Experiment 3, Experiment 4, Experiment 5, Preparatory experiment 1, Preparatory experiment 2 |
| Neuropsychological scalesDifferent neuropsychological scales will be administered to assess various psychological and behavioral dimensions relevant to the study, such as: the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES): To evaluate levels of apathy ; the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS): To assess depression, anxiety, and stress ; and the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS): To evaluate the inability to experience pleasure. | Behavioural | Experiment 1, Experiment 2, Experiment 3, Experiment 4, Experiment 5, Preparatory experiment 1, Preparatory experiment 2 |
| EEGElectroencephalography | Procedure or surgery | Experiment 2, Experiment 3 |
Primary outcome
Acceptance rates (from 0 to 100 % of acceptance) for behavioral outcomes. Connectivity and oscillatory changes for neural activity
Time frame: Up to 6 months
Acceptance rate is the participant's willingness to engage in effortful tasks for rewards and reaction times measure the rapidity to approach or avoid the effort. Connectivity and oscillatory changes will be analyses with imaging data
Reaction times (in ms) for behavioral outcomes. Connectivity and oscillatory changes for neural activity
Time frame: Up to 6 months
Acceptance rate is the participant's willingness to engage in effortful tasks for rewards and reaction times measure the rapidity to approach or avoid the effort. Connectivity and oscillatory changes will be analyses with imaging data
2 secondary outcomes
fMRI connectivity
Time frame: Up to 6 months
EEG-measured synchrony
Time frame: Up to 6 months
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 22 Jan 2026.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Cortico-cortical paired-associative stimulation (ccPAS), Bifocal transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) and Combining transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS) and oscillatory TMS in people with Healthy Volunteers and Motivation, run by Hospices Civils de Lyon at 1 site in France.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 21 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 22 Jan 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in France. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Gerard DEROSIERE, Dr (680872505 ext. +33, gerard.derosiere@inserm.fr), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Acceptance rates (from 0 to 100 % of acceptance) for behavioral outcomes. Connectivity and oscillatory changes for neural activity (time frame: Up to 6 months). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 22 Jan 2026.