Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) and Hallucinations in Schizophrenia

Anodal & Cathodal tDCS for Treatment of Resistant Auditory Hallucinations in Schizophrenia

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00870909

Enrollment

Registered

2009-03-27

Start date

2009-02-02

Completion date

2016-07-20

Last updated

2017-03-01

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Auditory Hallucinations, Schizophrenia

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether trans Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is effective in the treatment of auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia.

Detailed description

The project will investigate the use of a novel technique, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in the treatment of patients with schizophrenia. tDCS permit the application of an extremely weak continuous electrical current to the brain through an anode and a cathode applied on the scalp. Anodal stimulation appears to increase brain activity whereas cathodal stimulation has the opposite effect. Using anodal & cathodal tDCS the investigators aimed to treat auditory hallucinations, a symptoms of schizophrenia. The investigators plan to apply tDCS such that it can simultaneously increased activity in the frontal brain areas and reduce activity over temporoparietal cortex, 2 areas involved in the physiopathology of the disease. Real active stimulation will be compare to a sham condition in 60 patients (30 in each group). 30 patients will be included in a French center (Hospital le Vinatier, sponsor of the study) and 30 in Tunisia (laboratory vulnerability to psychosis (Pr Gaha) à Monastir).

Interventions

PROCEDUREactive tDCS

Intensity 2 mA during 20 minutes, 2 times per day

PROCEDUREsham tDCS

sham condition as delivered by the stimulator

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 50 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Schizophrenia according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual - DSM-IV * Auditory verbal hallucinations for at least 6 weeks (despite antipsychotic drugs) * Medication Resistance according to Kane et al., 1988 * Age between 18 and 50 years old * Informed consent

Exclusion criteria

* Concomitant major and unstable medical or neurologic illness * Pregnant

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Auditory hallucinations measured by Auditory Hallucination Rating Scale (Hoffman et al., 2003)	before, after 1 week of treatment and 2 times follow up (1 & 3 months)

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Neurochemical impact of treatment measured by 1H-MRS (proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy), DTI (Diffusion Tensor Imaging) and resting MRI	3 times: before treatment, immediately after treatment and a last evaluation 1 month after

Countries

France, Tunisia

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026