A Preliminary Study of Model-driven Individualized Transcranial Electrical Stimulation for Insomnia

Last updated: September 21, 2025
Sponsor: Shanghai Mental Health Center
Overall Status: Completed

Phase

N/A

Condition

Insomnia

Treatment

High-Definition transcranial electrical stimulation

Clinical Study ID

NCT05445999
SMHC-ISM-001
  • Ages 18-50
  • All Genders

Study Summary

This study is designed to evaluate the efficacy and to explore the best individualized stimulus paradigm of transcranial Electrical Stimulation for insomnia patients.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion

Participants will be recruited from the Shanghai Mental Health Center (SMHC) in Shanghai. Eligible insomnia participants were adults (18-50 years at SMHC) and diagnosed with insomnia disorder according to DSM-5 criteria by neurologists or psychiatrists using the procedure of Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview. Inclusion criteria were: (1) ≥ 9 years of education, (2) medication-free or had received stable medication for at least 2 months before entering the study and continued the same medication throughout the study. Exclusion criteria included: (1) serious medical, neurological, or psychiatric disorders other than anxiety or mild-to-moderate depression secondary to insomnia, (2) obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, (3) pregnancy or recent preparation for pregnancy, (4) previous treatments with ECT, rTMS, tES, and CBT-I.

Study Design

Total Participants: 20
Treatment Group(s): 1
Primary Treatment: High-Definition transcranial electrical stimulation
Phase:
Study Start date:
January 01, 2023
Estimated Completion Date:
September 01, 2025

Study Description

This study is an open-label clinical trial. A total of 40 patients with insomnia who meet the inclusion and exclusion of criteria will be recruited from the SMHC (20) and be assigned to receive individualized tDCS treatment. Patients will undergo ten days of daily individualized tDCS treatment for 20 min (sessions 2-11, SMHC) over a two-week period, which session 7 of patients for re-screening of tDCS target. In addition, normal control subjects and insomnia patients meeting eligibility criteria will be recruited from SMHC to identify biomarkers of wakefulness and sleep through simultaneous fMRI-EEG and high-density EEG recordings. These participants will not receive tDCS and will serve as controls for comparison with the treatment group.

Connect with a study center

  • Shanghai Mental Health Center

    Shanghai, Shanghai 200234
    China

    Site Not Available

  • Shanghai Mental Health Center

    Shanghai 1796236, Shanghai Municipality 1796231 200234
    China

    Site Not Available

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