The Effects of Videogames on Depression Symptoms and Brain Dynamics

NCT ID: NCT05426265

Last Updated: 2025-02-03

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

1001 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2022-06-28

Study Completion Date

2024-08-14

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effects of a game-based digital-therapeutics (DTx) medical software device on the symptoms of depression in adults with confirmed major depressive disorder.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

The study is a comparator-controlled, randomised, double-blinded intervention study aimed at assessing the effects of the investigational device MEL-T01, "Meliora", on the symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD). MEL-S01 acts as a comparator. MEL-T01 is a game-based digital-therapeutics (DTx) medical software device developed at Aalto University and is intended to be used as a treatment for MDD together with treatment-as-usual (TAU). MEL-T01 implements personalised cognitive training to alleviate MDD symptoms and improve cognitive performance in MDD subjects.

Subjects volunteering to participate in this investigation are adults whose MDD is confirmed through MINI interview. They have an on-going mental health treatment contact with a mental health professional. The subjects are randomised into three arms with equal probabilities in blocks of six consecutive subjects. Subjects in the MEL-T01 and MEL-S01 arms are engaged in the intervention for 12 weeks while those in the TAU arm are on a follow-up period during these 12 weeks. After this 12-week period, the subjects in MEL-T01 and MEL-S01 arms enter a 12-week follow-up period and the subjects in TAU arm engage with either the MEL-T01 or MEL-S01 intervention (randomised at T0 with equal probability) for 12 weeks.

The subjects are recommended to play the investigational-device game for a total of 48 hours during the 12 weeks of active intervention with a recommended weekly dose of 4 hours. A minimum of 24 hours is needed for inclusion to hypothesis testing. The subjects are limited to a daily maximum of 1.5 hours of game time.

The subjects' mental health symptoms and well-being are evaluated through online questionnaires five times: before subjects are randomised into one of the three groups (T0), and then 4 (T1), 8 (T2), 12 (T3), and 24 (T4) weeks after the study has begun.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Major Depressive Disorder

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

The effectiveness of MEL-T01 and comparator MEL-S01 are studied. Their effectiveness is compared to a treatment-as-usual (TAU) group who also receive the intervention after a 12 week waiting period.
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

QUADRUPLE

Participants Caregivers Investigators Outcome Assessors
The research design is randomized and double-blinded. Subject randomization in study arms as well as treatment is automatized.

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

MEL-T01

MEL-T01 is a game-based digital-therapeutics (DTx) medical software device that implements personalised cognitive training to alleviate MDD symptoms and improve cognitive performance in MDD subjects.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

MEL-T01

Intervention Type DEVICE

A 12 week intervention with MEL-T01.

MEL-S01

MEL-S01 is an active comparator similar to MEL-T01 but without personalized cognitive training elements.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

MEL-S01

Intervention Type DEVICE

A 12 week intervention with MEL-S01.

TAU

Treatment-as-usual.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

MEL-T01

A 12 week intervention with MEL-T01.

Intervention Type DEVICE

MEL-S01

A 12 week intervention with MEL-S01.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Other Intervention Names

Discover alternative or legacy names that may be used to describe the listed interventions across different sources.

Meliora

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* Between 18-65 year-old
* Suffering from major depressive disorder
* Have an ongoing mental health treatment contact to basic healthcare, specialised healthcare, student healthcare or occupational healthcare
* Has sufficient eyesight with or without prescription
* Has a Windows computer with internet connection and mouse
* Has email and phone number

Exclusion Criteria

* They have threat of self-harm
* They have addiction to digital games
* They have psychotic disorders
* They are pregnant or breastfeeding
* They have impaired ability in decision making
* They are prisoner or forensic subject
* They have neurological disorders such as epilepsy or brain injury
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

Business Finland

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Helsinki University Central Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Turku University Hospital

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role collaborator

Aalto University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Hanna Renvall, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Helsinki University Central Hospital

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

Turku University Hospital

Turku, Southwest Finland, Finland

Site Status

Aalto University (TMS)

Espoo, Uusimaa, Finland

Site Status

Aalto University, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering

Espoo, Uusimaa, Finland

Site Status

Helsinki University Hospital, Psychiatry

Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland

Site Status

Helsinki University Hospital BioMag laboratory

Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland

Site Status

University of Helsinki Neuroscience Center (MEG, MRI)

Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

Finland

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Lukka L, Vesterinen M, Salonen A, Bergman VR, Torkki P, Palva S, Palva JM. User journey method: a case study for improving digital intervention use measurement. BMC Health Serv Res. 2025 Apr 1;25(1):479. doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-12641-9.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 40165237 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

MelioraRCT

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.