NCT06919432

Efficacy of Triple-daily 15mA tACS on Adolescent NSSI

Efficacy of Triple-daily 15mA Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation on Adolescent Non-suicidal Self-injury (NSSI): a Double-blind, Randomized, Sham-controlled Trial

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 66 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Shanghai Mental Health Center · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 12 Years – 21 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

In order to assess the clinical efficacy of triple-daily 15mA-tACS stimulation by comparing the effects of active and sham tACS interventions on driving improvements in adolescent Nonsuicidal Self-Injury(NSSI), participants will be randomly assigned to either the active or sham tACS group. This trial consists of a 2-week intensified intervention phase (40 sessions), followed by a 4-week observation period. The key hypothesis is that triple-daily 15mA-tACS stimulation will enhance clinical recovery compared to sham stimulation.

Detailed description

Recognizing the clinical shortcomings of traditional methods for adolescent NSSI, study objective is to establish evidence supporting the efficacy of a triple-daily 15mA-tACS stimulation regimen targeting the forehead and both mastoids. This intervention will be administered five days a week over a four-week treatment period, with the aim of eliciting substantial clinical improvements in adolescent NSSI compared to a sham intervention. On the first day of the intervention, participants will receive a tACS session, followed by triple-daily tACS sessions administered for 13 consecutive days. Following the completion of treatment, participants will undergo follow-up observations every 7 days for 4 weeks. EEG and ECG recordings will be obtained at baseline, on day 1 after the first session, at the end of the 2-week intervention period (after 40 sessions), and at the 6-week follow-up. Throughout the sessions, all evaluations will be conducted under standardized conditions.

Conditions

• Self-Injurious Behavior

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Active-tACS	Participants were comfortably positioned on a lounge chair and received alternating current stimulation using an FDA-approved tACS device (Nexalin Technology, Inc., Houston, TX, USA). Electrodes were evenly placed across the forehead and mastoid regions. Trained nurses administered the tACS according to standardized protocols.
DEVICE	Sham-tACS	The sham tACS device will resemble the active stimulation device in appearance, weight, size, color, and odor, ensuring indistinguishability for the patients. Throughout the entire intervention period, each participant will be allocated to the same tACS device, regardless of whether it delivers active or sham stimulation.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-05-01
• Primary completion: 2027-09-30
• Completion: 2027-09-30
• First posted: 2025-04-09
• Last updated: 2025-06-12

Locations

1 site across 1 country: China