Study Pilot - Hybrid EEG/fMRI Neurofeedback in Depressed Patients (NEUROFEEDEP)

June 11, 2026 updated by: Rennes University Hospital

Cognitive impairment is a common residual symptom after a depressive episode and expose patients to a risk of relapsing or therapeutic resistance.

Neurofeedback (using ElectroEncephaloGraphy - EEG or functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging - fMRI) allows patients to self-regulate their cerebral activity, which is supposedly provided through an intelligible and motivating feedback.

Recent results exhibited clinical improvement in depressed patients who underwent a fMRI neurofeedback protocol targeting the amygdala. Furthermore, prefrontal alpha activity was temporally correlated to variations of the BOLD signal in the amygdala. Simultaneous fMRI/EEG neurofeedback is hypothesized to potentialize its antidepressant effect.

Our objective will be to test this assumption by conducting a double-blind randomized trial, and to prove the superiority of bimodal fMRI/EEG neurofeedback over fMRI neurofeedback alone in depressed patients.

An original visual feedback will be provided and validated beforehand by a pilot study.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
31

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Aged 18 to 65 years old
  2. Signature of an informed consent after being given clear and loyal oral and written information

Exclusion Criteria:

Related to the volunteer

  1. Prior experience of a neurofeedback task

    Related to the MRI

  2. Implanted cardiac pacemaker of defibrillator
  3. Brain aneurysm clip
  4. Cochlear implant
  5. Ocular on encephalic metallic foreign body
  6. Endoprothesis implanted for less than 4 weeks and ostheosynthesis device implanted for less than 6 weeks.

  7. Claustrophobia

    Other criteria

  8. Unstable hemodynamic status
  9. Acute respiratory failure
  10. Alteration of general state or continuous monitoring requirement
  11. Other psychiatric condition (DSM-5) such as schizophrenia, substance abuse…
  12. Neurological condition or diagnosis of dementia in medical history
  13. Undergoing treatment by benzodiazepines or anticonvulsants prescribed less than a month prior to inclusion
  14. Undergoing treatment influencing the blood flow prescribed less than three weeks prior to inclusion
  15. Protected person (adults legally protected (under judicial protection, guardianship or supervision), person deprived of their liberty, pregnant woman, lactating woman and minor)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: EEG/fMRI neurofeedback
Healthy volunteers
Other: EEG/fMRI neurofeedback
EEG/fMRI neurofeedback

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
EEG power in alpha band
Time Frame: day 1
Measurement by an enregistrement in EEG
day 1
Cerebral activation in fMRI
Time Frame: day 1
Measurement by an enregistrement in fMRI
day 1

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Technology prone behaviour
Time Frame: day 1

Measurement by Locus of Control Related to Technology (LCRT) (Beier, 2004, French translation Chikhi, 2017) :

  • Description : Subjective 5-point Likert scale. 8 questions. Self-report.
  • Minimal score : 8
  • Maximal score: 40
  • Interpretation : Assessment of the affinity to technology (higher score - better handling). No cut-off.
day 1
Anxious personality traits
Time Frame: day 1

Measurement by State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI - Y) (Spielberger, 1983, French translation Spielberger 1993)

  • Description : 4-point Likert scale. 40 questions. Self report.
  • Two parts : State-anxiety (20 questions) and Trait-anxiety (20 questions)
  • Minimal score : 20
  • Maximal score : 80
  • Interpretation : > 65 - very high anxiety, 56-65 - high, 46-55 - average, 36-45 - low, < 35 - very low
day 1
Mindfulness skills
Time Frame: day 1

Measurement by Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) (Baer, 2006, French translation Heeren, 2011)

  • Description : 5-point Likert scale. 39 questions. Self-report. Five facets : Observing, Describing, Acting with awareness, Non-judging of inner experience, Non-reactivity to inner experience
  • Minimal score : 39
  • Maximal score : 195
  • Interpretation : Measure of the tendency to be mindful in daily life (higher score - mindful traits). No cut-off.
day 1

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Rennes University Hospital

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Jean-Marie Batail, Rennes University Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
August 10, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 26, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 26, 2022

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 12, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 26, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 29, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 12, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 11, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 35RC19_9750_NEUROFEEDEP
  • 2019-A02877-50 (Other Identifier: N° ID-RCB)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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