An interventional study of transcranial direct current stimulation in Schizophrenia, Hallucinations and Refractory Schizophrenia, sponsored by Centre hospitalier de Ville-Evrard, France. Completed at 1 site in France. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-06.
Sponsored by Centre hospitalier de Ville-Evrard, France · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The regions which are assumed to underlie the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, namely hypoactivity at the prefrontal level and pathological hyperactivity of the associative regions of the language located in the left temporoparietal region.
To assess the efficacy of tDCS on auditory hallucinations, the investigators performs an randomized double blind versus placebo trial. In each arms patients will receive two tDCS sessions a day during two weeks.
Hearing hallucinations are one of the major symptoms of schizophrenia. In 30% of patients they are resistant to common psychotropic treatments. tDCS (Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation) is a technical of brain stimulation, non-invasive, painless that modulates brain activity by the transcranial administration of a low-intensity electric current, via two electrodes (an anode and a cathode). Several scientifics studies have reported a beneficial effect of tDCS in the treatment of pain, depression and especially hearing hallucinations in schizophrenia.
The main study purpose is to evaluate the effectiveness of tDCS on resistant auditory hallucinations in patients with schizophrenia.
Then, to evaluate the effectiveness of tDCS on global schizophrenic symptomatology and to assess the impact of tDCS on patients' quality of life.
Also the study, evaluate the impact of tDCS on cortical excitability. We measure the change in serum BDNF (Brain Derived Neutrophic Factor) before and after tDCS stimulation. Indeed, to evaluate the impact of tDCS on neurocognitive functions.
Patients will receive either active tDCS or placebo tDCS randomly. All patients will have two tDCS/day sessions, one hour apart, for 2 working weeks. The stimulation parameters will be consistent with the literature data, namely: Intensity = 2mA; duration of sessions = 20 minutes; total number of sessions = 20 (2 daily sessions for two working weeks).
53 studies on the registry are indexed under Schizophrenia, Treatment-Resistant; 22 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 25 is below the median of 60 across 46 interventional studies indexed under Schizophrenia, Treatment-Resistant.
Browse Schizophrenia, Treatment-Resistant studies →Centre hospitalier de Ville-Evrard, France is the lead sponsor of 22 studies on the registry; 14 are open to participants now.
Compared within Schizophrenia, Treatment-Resistant, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Schizophrenia. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.
Relapsed: the illness came back after treatment had worked. Refractory: it did not respond to treatment, or stopped responding while still on it.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
DSM diagnostic criteria
The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Relapsed and refractory
Relapsed: the illness came back after treatment had worked. Refractory: it did not respond to treatment, or stopped responding while still on it.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
The transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with two elecrodes placed over the scalp: the anode over the LTP, le cathode over L DLPFG.
Device: transcranial direct current stimulation
tDCS device allows sham stimulation. This technic give the same impression that active stimulation and allows optimum placebo stimulation.
Device: transcranial direct current stimulation
transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non invasive brain stimulation technic
Also known as: tDCS
auditory hallucinations rating scale (AHRS)
AHRS is a scale frequently used to assess auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia studies (Hoffman et al. 2005).
Time frame: At baseline
auditory hallucinations rating scale (AHRS)
AHRS is a scale frequently used to assess auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia studies (Hoffman et al. 2005).
Time frame: 15 days after
PANSS,
Positive and negative symptom scale (PANSS, Kay et al. 1988)
Time frame: At baseline
PANSS,
Positive and negative symptom scale (PANSS, Kay et al. 1988)
Time frame: 15 days after
CGI
clinical global impression (Kadouri et al. 2007)
Time frame: At baseline
CGI
clinical global impression (Kadouri et al. 2007)
Time frame: 15 days after
Plan to share: Undecided
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Ran from May 2016 to primary completion in Mar 2025, 106 months.
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This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Schizophrenia, Treatment-Resistant →
Centre hospitalier de Ville-Evrard, France