Subthreshold DepressionNCT07319143
The Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in Improving Emotion Health
A study testing Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in people with Subthreshold Depression and Positive Emotions, run by The University of Hong Kong at 1 site in Hong Kong.
Trial summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate how transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) affects emotion functions in young adults aged 18-35 from the local community, including both male and female participants. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 35 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Subthreshold Depression, Positive Emotions, Negative Emotions
- What is being tested?
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation
- Type of treatment
- Medical device
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 90 participants
- Where
- 1 siteHong Kong
- Study dates
- 8 Jan 2026to 1 Sep 2027
- 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 35 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Age 18-35 years
- Fluency in Cantonese or Mandarin
- Normal or corrected-to-normal vision and hearing
- IQ > 75% Quantile in Raven's SPM
- At least 9 years of formal education
- Right-handedness
Who cannot join
- Past or current major physical illness or psychiatric disorders
- Use of psychotropic medication in the past 6 months
- Pregnancy (for women)
- Any condition that prevents safe tDCS use (e.g., brain injury, implants)
- Previous participation in neuromodulation in the past 3 months
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Hong Kong1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
The University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Associate Professor, Principle Investigator, +852-3917-8927, rshao@hku.hk
About this study
Official title: Utilizing Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) to Alleviate Subthreshold Depression Via Distinct Positive and Negative Emotion Pathways
The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate how transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) affects emotion functions in young adults aged 18-35 from the local community, including both male and female participants. The main question[s] it aims to answer are:
- Does tDCS improve emotional functions, such as mood regulation and motivation, in individuals with subthreshold depression (StD)?
- Can tDCS enhance emotional regulation compared to a sham stimulation (placebo)?
Read more
Researchers will compare participants receiving tDCS on either the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC) or right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (rVLPFC) with those receiving sham stimulation to see if tDCS has a stronger effect on emotional functions.
Participants will:
- Complete online and in-person screening to assess depressive symptoms using the Chinese version of the Beck Depression Inventory II (C-BDI-II) and be selected based on their depressive symptoms (C-BDI-II score ≥ 13).
- Be randomly assigned to one of three groups: lDLPFC tDCS, rVLPFC tDCS, or Sham control group (1:1:1 ratio).
- Receive 10 sessions of tDCS or Sham tDCS over 2 weeks, with each session lasting 20 minutes.
- Complete assessments at baseline, post-intervention, 1-month follow-up, and 3-month follow-up, with each assessment lasting 2-2.5 hours. This includes questionnaires and perform emotional and cognitive tasks.
- Being tested
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, Sham tDCS
- Keywords
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, Subthreshold Depression, Emotion, Neuromodulation
- Medical subject headings
- Anhedonia
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Transcranial Direct Current StimulationDevice
Also called tDCS
TDCS is a non-invasive, safe, inexpensive, convenient and effective method to modulate brain and emotion functions. During tDCS, a mild electric current is passed between the anodal and cathodal electrodes on the scalp, which respectively excites and inhibits local and downstream neuronal activity, as well as modulating interregional connectivity strength. Compared to other neurostimulation methods such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, tDCS side effects tend to be milder and transient, even if being administered for multiple sessions, making it suitable to be widely applied on clinical and subclinical populations.
Sham tDCSDevice
The sham tDCS delivers actual stimulation for 30 seconds only, while providing similar psychological perceptions to participants as the real intervention. Thus, the sham tDCS serves as an active control condition to the tDCS interventions.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| IDLPFC tDCS | Experimental | This intervention is a 20 minutes per session, two-week tDCS neuromodulation of IDLPFC region (anode: F3, cathode: FP2) designed to reduce depressive symptoms via enhancing positive emotion functions, thereby reducing anhedonia. Receives: Device: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation |
| rVLPFC tDCS | Experimental | This intervention is a 20 minutes per session, two-week tDCS neuromodulation of rVLPFC region (anode: F6, cathode: FP1) designed to reduce depressive symptoms via regulating negative emotion functions, thereby reducing depressed mood. Receives: Device: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation |
| Sham tDCS | Sham comparator | This is a 20 minutes per session, two-week Sham comparator of IDLPFC/rVLPFC region, participants will receive tDCS for 30 seconds at either IDLPFC/rVLPFC at the beginning of each session to stimulate real neuromodulation. Receives: Device: Sham tDCS |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Depressive symptoms
The Beck Depression Inventory-II Chinese Version measures change in depressive symptoms. The total score range is 0-63, higher score indicates more severe depressive symptoms.
Measured: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Secondary outcomes (15)
Affective trait
The Chinese Affect Scale measures changes in positive and negative affective traits. Both the positive affect and the negative affect subscales have a score range of 0-40, with higher scores indicating higher levels of positive affect trait and negative affect trait respectively.
Measured: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Anhedonia severity
The dimensional anhedonia rating scale measures change in anhedonia severity on distinct physical/social domain. The scale comprises four subscales: Hobbies (4 items; score range 0-16), Food/Drink (4 items; score range 0-16), Social Activities (4 items; score range 0-16), and Sensory Experience (5 items; score range 0-20), with higher scores on each subscale indicating less anhedonia severity within the corresponding domain.
Measured: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Anhedonia symptoms
The Chapman Physical/Social Anhedonia scales assess change in anhedonia symptoms in physical and social domains. The Chapman Physical Anhedonia Scale consists of 61 true-false items with a total score range of 0-61, and the Chapman Social Anhedonia Scale consists of 40 true-false items with a total score range of 0-40. For both scales, higher scores indicate higher levels of anhedonia.
Measured: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Behavioural motivation trait
The Behavioural Activation and Inhibition Scale measures change in reward-driven approaching and punishment-driven avoidance tendencies. The Behavioural Inhibition System scale consists of 7 items with a score range of 7-28, with higher scores indicating higher behavioural inhibition. The Behavioural Activation System scale comprises three subscales: Drive (4 items; score range 4-16), Fun Seeking (4 items; score range 4-16), and Reward Responsiveness (5 items; score range 5-20). Higher scores on each BAS subscale indicate higher levels of behavioural activation within the corresponding domain.
Measured: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Emotion regulation function
The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire measures change in emotion regulation functions. The scale comprises nine subscales, Self-Blame, Acceptance, Rumination, Positive Refocusing, Refocus on Planning, Positive Reappraisal, Putting into Perspective, Catastrophising, and Other-Blame. Each consisting of 2 items with a score range of 2-10. Higher scores on each subscale indicate greater habitual use of emotion regulation strategy.
Measured: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Coping to adversity
The Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced inventory measures change in people's coping strategies to hardships. The problem-focused subscale consist of 8 items (score range 4-32). The emotion-focused subscale consists of 12 items (score range 4-46). The avoidant/dysfunctional coping subscale consists of 8 items (score range 4-32). In each subscale, higher scores indicate greater use of the corresponding coping strategy.
Measured: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Reward sensitivity
The Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale assesses change in sensitivity towards both anticipatory and consummatory pleasurable experience. The scale comprises four subscales: Abstract Anticipatory Pleasure (4 items; score range 4-24), Contextual Anticipatory Pleasure (5 items; score range 5-30), Abstract Consummatory Pleasure (6 items; score range 6-36), and Contextual Consummatory Pleasure (4 items; score range 4-24), with higher scores on each subscale indicating greater capacity to experience pleasure from reward.
Measured: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Apathy symptom
The Apathy Evaluation Scale-Self measures change in emotional indifference and apathy (lack of motivation). The scale consists of 18 items, yielding a total score range of 0-54, with higher scores indicating greater emotional indifference and higher levels of apathy.
Measured: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Perceived loneliness
The brief UCLA Loneliness Scale measures change in the participants' subjective loneliness. The scale consists of 6 items yielding a total score range of 6-24, with higher scores indicating higher levels of perceived loneliness.
Measured: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Stress level
The 10-item Perceived Stress Scale measures change in perceived stressful experiences. The scale consists of 10 items yielding a total score range of 0-40, with higher scores indicating higher levels of perceived stress.
Measured: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Emotion ratings of words
The Emotion Rating Task measures changes in participants' feeling and motivation to positive social, positive non-social, negative social and negative non-social word stimuli.
Measured: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Instrumental behavioural motivation
The Monetary Incentive Delay task measures change in behavioural motivations to obtain rewards or to avoid punishment.
Measured: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Emotional inhibition control
The Emotion Stroop task measures change in participants' inhibition control of emotional processing.
Measured: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Cognitive control function
The colour stroop measures change in cognitive control and inhibition functions.
Measured: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Working memory
The N-back task measures change in the participants' working memory capacity.
Measured: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted6 Jan 2026
- Study start8 Jan 2026
- Primary completion1 Sep 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion1 Sep 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Subthreshold DepressionStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by The University of Hong KongThe 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
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Investigator
- Enrolment
- 90 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- The University of Hong Kong
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Research Grants Council, Hong Kong
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Zhengxi Shao, The University of Hong Kong
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07319143
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- EA240670
- Other IDs
- 17600425
- Status last verified
- Dec 2025
- First submitted
- 6 Dec 2025
- Last updated
- 4 May 2026
- Results posted
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 4 May 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Utilizing Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) to Alleviate Subthreshold Depression Via Distinct Positive and Negative Emotion Pathways
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07319143
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- EA240670
- Keywords
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, Subthreshold Depression, Emotion, Neuromodulation
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 90 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- The University of Hong KongUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Research Grants Council, Hong Kong
- Study start
- 8 Jan 2026 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 1 Sep 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 1 Sep 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 6 Jan 2026 (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.
The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate how transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) affects emotion functions in young adults aged 18-35 from the local community, including both male and female participants. The main question[s] it aims to answer are:
- Does tDCS improve emotional functions, such as mood regulation and motivation, in individuals with subthreshold depression (StD)?
- Can tDCS enhance emotional regulation compared to a sham stimulation (placebo)?
Researchers will compare participants receiving tDCS on either the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC) or right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (rVLPFC) with those receiving sham stimulation to see if tDCS has a stronger effect on emotional functions.
Participants will:
- Complete online and in-person screening to assess depressive symptoms using the Chinese version of the Beck Depression Inventory II (C-BDI-II) and be selected based on their depressive symptoms (C-BDI-II score ≥ 13).
- Be randomly assigned to one of three groups: lDLPFC tDCS, rVLPFC tDCS, or Sham control group (1:1:1 ratio).
- Receive 10 sessions of tDCS or Sham tDCS over 2 weeks, with each session lasting 20 minutes.
- Complete assessments at baseline, post-intervention, 1-month follow-up, and 3-month follow-up, with each assessment lasting 2-2.5 hours. This includes questionnaires and perform emotional and cognitive tasks.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind (participant, investigator)
- Number of arms
- 3
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| IDLPFC tDCS | Experimental | Device: Transcranial Direct Current StimulationThis intervention is a 20 minutes per session, two-week tDCS neuromodulation of IDLPFC region (anode: F3, cathode: FP2) designed to reduce depressive symptoms via enhancing positive emotion functions, thereby reducing anhedonia. |
| rVLPFC tDCS | Experimental | Device: Transcranial Direct Current StimulationThis intervention is a 20 minutes per session, two-week tDCS neuromodulation of rVLPFC region (anode: F6, cathode: FP1) designed to reduce depressive symptoms via regulating negative emotion functions, thereby reducing depressed mood. |
| Sham tDCS | Sham comparator | Device: Sham tDCSThis is a 20 minutes per session, two-week Sham comparator of IDLPFC/rVLPFC region, participants will receive tDCS for 30 seconds at either IDLPFC/rVLPFC at the beginning of each session to stimulate real neuromodulation. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 35 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Age 18-35 years
- Fluency in Cantonese or Mandarin
- Normal or corrected-to-normal vision and hearing
- IQ > 75% Quantile in Raven's SPM
- At least 9 years of formal education
Key exclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Past or current major physical illness or psychiatric disorders
- Use of psychotropic medication in the past 6 months
- Pregnancy (for women)
- Any condition that prevents safe tDCS use (e.g., brain injury, implants)
- Previous participation in neuromodulation in the past 3 months
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Transcranial Direct Current StimulationAlso: tDCSTDCS is a non-invasive, safe, inexpensive, convenient and effective method to modulate brain and emotion functions. During tDCS, a mild electric current is passed between the anodal and cathodal electrodes on the scalp, which respectively excites and inhibits local and downstream neuronal activity, as well as modulating interregional connectivity strength. Compared to other neurostimulation methods such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, tDCS side effects tend to be milder and transient, even if being administered for multiple sessions, making it suitable to be widely applied on clinical and subclinical populations. | Device | IDLPFC tDCS, rVLPFC tDCS |
| Sham tDCSThe sham tDCS delivers actual stimulation for 30 seconds only, while providing similar psychological perceptions to participants as the real intervention. Thus, the sham tDCS serves as an active control condition to the tDCS interventions. | Device | Sham tDCS |
Primary outcome
Depressive symptoms
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
The Beck Depression Inventory-II Chinese Version measures change in depressive symptoms. The total score range is 0-63, higher score indicates more severe depressive symptoms.
15 secondary outcomes
Affective trait
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Anhedonia severity
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Anhedonia symptoms
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Behavioural motivation trait
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Emotion regulation function
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Coping to adversity
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Reward sensitivity
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Apathy symptom
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Perceived loneliness
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Stress level
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Emotion ratings of words
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Instrumental behavioural motivation
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Emotional inhibition control
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Cognitive control function
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
Working memory
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)
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 4 May 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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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 Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in people with Subthreshold Depression and Positive Emotions, run by The University of Hong Kong at 1 site in Hong Kong.
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 6 inclusion and 5 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 4 May 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 Hong Kong. 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. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. 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 Associate Professor, Principle Investigator (+852-3917-8927, rshao@hku.hk), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Depressive symptoms (time frame: Baseline (Day 1), Post-Intervention (Day 15), 1-Month Follow-up (Day 45), 3-Month Follow-up (Day 105)). 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 4 May 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 6 Nov 2026.