tDCS for Stress and Burnout in Higher Education

NCT07411833 | Enrolling By Invitation

• 1 other identifier: PT-194/25
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate if transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) works to reduce occupational stress and burnout in university professors. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does tDCS reduce levels of occupational stress in university professors? Does tDCS reduce burnout levels in university professors? Researchers will compare active tDCS to a sham stimulation (a look-alike procedure that contains no active stimulation) and a control group to see if tDCS effectively reduces stress and burnout. Participants will:

• Complete questionnaires assessing stress and burnout levels before the intervention
• Complete follow-up assessments immediately after the intervention and 5 weeks later During intervention, participans of active tDCS and Sham gruops will:
• Receive 10 sessions of tDCS over 4 weeks (excluding weekends), 20 minutes each

Conditions

Occupational Stress or Workplace Stress; Burnout Syndrome; Burnout

Keywords

Occupational Stress; Burnout; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; tDCS; Higher Education; Neuromodulation; Non-invasive brain stimulation; Higher Education Staff

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change in Burnout levels measured by the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT-12)

  The BAT-12 assesses burnout in four dimensions (Exhaustion, Mental Distance, Cognitive and Emotional Impairment Control) with 12 items on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Never; 5 = Always). Higher scores indicate greater burnout. The Portuguese version presents good internal consistency with α=0.85.

  Baseline (pre-intervention), immediately after intervention completion (approximately 4 weeks), and at 5-week follow-up (approximately 9 weeks from baseline)

• Change in Perceived Stress measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)

  The PSS assesses perceived stress in recent weeks. Contains 10 items on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = Never; 4 = Very frequently). The Portuguese version presents good internal consistency with α=0.79.

  Baseline (pre-intervention), immediately after intervention completion (approximately 4 weeks), and at 5-week follow-up (approximately 9 weeks from baseline)

Study Arms (3)

Active tDCS

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will receive 10 sessions of active transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over 4 weeks (excluding weekends), 20 minutes each session. The current intensity will be 1.2 mA, with the anode electrode positioned over the left prefrontal cortex (F3 position) and cathode electrode over the right prefrontal cortex (F4 position). Sessions will be conducted using the PlatoWork tDCS Headset device. There will be no less than 24 hours and no more than 72 hours between sessions.

Device: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)

Sham tDCS

SHAM COMPARATOR

Participants will receive 10 sessions of sham transcranial direct current stimulation over 4 weeks (excluding weekends), 20 minutes each session. The sham condition will mimic the active tDCS intervention but without delivering therapeutic stimulation. Sessions will be conducted using the PlatoWork tDCS Headset device configured in sham mode. There will be no less than 24 hours and no more than 72 hours between sessions.

Device: Sham Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Control Group

NO INTERVENTION

Participants will complete all assessment protocols (pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up) without receiving any intervention. This group serves to identify potential effects of environmental variables on the results.

Interventions

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) DEVICE

Active transcranial direct current stimulation will be administered using the PlatoWork tDCS Headset device, developed by PlatoScience, with 20-minute stimulation sessions. The intervention consists of 10 sessions distributed over 4 weeks, with the anode electrode positioned over the left prefrontal cortex (F3 position) and cathode electrode over the right prefrontal cortex (F4 position).

Also known as: (tDCS)

Active tDCS

Sham Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation DEVICE

Sham transcranial direct current stimulation will be administered using the PlatoWork tDCS Headset device configured in sham mode. The sham procedure mimics the active tDCS intervention in all aspects (electrode placement, session duration, device operation) but does not deliver therapeutic stimulation. This serves as a placebo control to assess the specific effects of active tDCS.

Also known as: Sham tDCS

Sham tDCS

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• University staff in active functions
• Age equal to or greater than 18 years
• Availability for the 10 intervention sessions and subsequent assessments
• Voluntary participation with informed consent

You may not qualify if:

• Contraindications for tDCS, namely pregnancy, history of seizures or epilepsy, neurological or anatomical contraindications, metal implants or brain surgeries
• Initiation or change in prescription of psychotropic drugs or anticonvulsants in the last 3 months
• Recent active psychotherapy
• Diagnosis of psychiatric condition in the last year

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Egas Moniz - Cooperativa de Ensino Superior, CRL: lead

Study Sites (1)

Egas Moniz School of Health and Science

Almada, Setúbal District, 2829 - 511, Portugal

Location

Related Publications (8)

• Stanton MP, Houser RA, Riechel MEK, Burnham JJ, McDougall G. The Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on Resilience, Compassion Fatigue, Stress and Empathy in Professional Nurses. Adv Res. 2015;5(2):10.9734/AIR/2015/16842. doi: 10.9734/AIR/2015/16842. Epub 2015 Jun 8.

  PMID: 31663011 BACKGROUND

• Sudbrack-Oliveira P, Razza LB, Brunoni AR. Non-invasive cortical stimulation: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Int Rev Neurobiol. 2021;159:1-22. doi: 10.1016/bs.irn.2021.01.001. Epub 2021 Mar 2.

  PMID: 34446242 BACKGROUND

• Quick JC, Henderson DF. Occupational Stress: Preventing Suffering, Enhancing Wellbeing. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016 Apr 29;13(5):459. doi: 10.3390/ijerph13050459.

  PMID: 27136575 BACKGROUND

• Herrera-Melendez AL, Bajbouj M, Aust S. Application of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Psychiatry. Neuropsychobiology. 2020;79(6):372-383. doi: 10.1159/000501227. Epub 2019 Jul 24.

  PMID: 31340213 BACKGROUND

• Desouky D, Allam H. Occupational stress, anxiety and depression among Egyptian teachers. J Epidemiol Glob Health. 2017 Sep;7(3):191-198. doi: 10.1016/j.jegh.2017.06.002. Epub 2017 Jul 18.

  PMID: 28756829 BACKGROUND

• Brosschot JF, Pieper S, Thayer JF. Expanding stress theory: prolonged activation and perseverative cognition. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2005 Nov;30(10):1043-9. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2005.04.008.

  PMID: 15939546 BACKGROUND

• Ahmadizadeh MJ, Rezaei M, Fitzgerald PB. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): A randomized, double-blinded, controlled trial. Brain Res Bull. 2019 Nov;153:273-278. doi: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2019.09.011. Epub 2019 Sep 24.

  PMID: 31560945 BACKGROUND

• Acquadro Maran D, Varetto A, Zedda M, Ieraci V. Occupational stress, anxiety and coping strategies in police officers. Occup Med (Lond). 2015 Aug;65(6):466-73. doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqv060. Epub 2015 Jun 4.

  PMID: 26048331 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Occupational Stress; Burnout, Psychological

Interventions

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Occupational Diseases; Stress, Psychological; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Electric Stimulation Therapy; Therapeutics; Convulsive Therapy; Psychiatric Somatic Therapies; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities; Electroshock; Psychological Techniques

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR
• Masking Details: The PlatoScience company will remotely configure user accounts as either experimental or sham condition without providing information about participants to the company. The research team will not have knowledge of which accounts are experimental and which are sham until the end of the study, ensuring double-blind conditions. The outcomes assessor role is also masked as assessments are conducted through self-report questionnaires administered identically across all groups.
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Double-blind randomized controlled trial with three parallel arms: active tDCS intervention, sham tDCS intervention, and control group (assessment only). The active and sham tDCS groups will receive 10 sessions over 4 weeks.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 9, 2026
• First Posted: February 17, 2026
• Study Start: February 18, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2026
• Last Updated: February 20, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-02

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

PT (1)