tDCS and Urge in BFRBs

Conditions

• Repetitive Compulsive Behavior

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

18 Years - 60 Years

Healthy Volunteers

Not accepted

Interventions

• Wireless Multichannel Transcranial Current Stimulator (tDCS) — DEVICE
  tDCS will be delivered for 13 minutes (active) or only at the beginning and end of the 13 minute period (sham) using Neuroelectrics Instrument Controller software and a battery-driven Starstim 8-channel transcranial direct current stimulator with 1cm2 ceramic electrodes and SIGNAGEL conductive saline gel.
• Cue exposure — BEHAVIORAL
  Participants will undergo three, twenty-second trials of exposure to individualized cues at the top of the established urge hierarchy, previously determined to precede picking or biting behaviors before and after tDCS.
• Boredom induction — BEHAVIORAL
  Participants will be left in the testing room without access to a cellphone or reading materials for 2 different 6 minute periods.

Study Details

The goal of this study is to find out if brain stimulation can help people stop skin-picking or nail-biting. The study wants to answer two main questions: 1. Does brain stimulation reduce the urge to pick skin or bite nails after those urges are triggered? 2. Does brain stimulation reduce how often people pick their skin or bite their nails? Participants will: * Talk about their skin-picking, nail-biting, and other mental health concerns * Be placed in situations that make them want to pick or bite * Rate how strong their urges are before and after brain stimulation Researchers will compare real brain stimulation to a placebo (a fake version that looks the same but has no effect) to see if the real stimulation works to reduce skin-picking and nail-biting urges and behaviors.

Key Dates

Start date

Jul 8, 2025

Status verified

Jul 2025

Primary completion

May 31, 2026

Completion

May 31, 2026

Study Design

Enrollment

55 participants (estimated)

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Arms

• Experimental: active multifocal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)
  participants receive 13-min of active multifocal tDCS targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. tDCS will be delivered offline for 13 minutes (1.5mA, 10 seconds ramp in/out).
• Sham Comparator: sham multifocal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)
  Sham stimulation will be identical to active but electrical current will only be ramped in/out at the beginning and end of the 13-min period.

Primary Outcome Measure

Change in subjective urge [ Time Frame: baseline and post intervention, approximately 90 minutes ]

Central Contacts

• Hannah Wild, M.S.
  ‪(859) 414-6962‬
  [email protected]

Locations (1)

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