Condition

Motivation clinical trials and research

• 15Clinical trials
• 70NIH research projects
• 5Countries

Newest Motivation clinical trials

All recruiting trials (15)

• Enhanced Music and Natural Visuals for Emotional Health

  This trial tests whether using soundBrilliance software with music and natural visuals helps improve emotional health for people 13 and older.

  Recruiting at 3 sites soundBrilliance LLC · Fort Collins, Colorado and 2 other locations · NCT07676110

• Sleep during the first 48 hours after birth and its link to breastfeeding motivation and success

  This project tests whether poor sleep in the first 48 hours after giving birth is linked to a mother's motivation to breastfeed and early breastfeeding success for mothers who start breastfeeding.

  Recruiting Acibadem University · Istanbul, Altunizade · NCT07413185

• Brain networks that drive motivation

  This study will try different non-invasive brain stimulation methods in healthy adults (18-40) to see if changing connectivity between frontal, striatal, noradrenergic, and motor circuits alters willingness to exert effort for rewards.

  Recruiting Hospices Civils de Lyon · Bron · NCT07251816

• Boosting motivation to do everyday living skills

  This project will try three different coaching programs to see if they help 16- to 25-year-old autistic teens and young adults feel more motivated and do everyday living tasks more often.

  Recruiting Children's Hospital of Philadelphia · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · NCT07159308

• Accelerated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) versus sham for post-stroke apathy

  This project will try a faster course of rTMS to see if it reduces persistent apathy in people at least six months after an ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke.

  Recruiting Phase 1/2 Medical University of South Carolina · Charleston, South Carolina · NCT07113067

• How breastfeeding myths affect mothers' motivation

  This project will see if believing common breastfeeding myths changes motivation to breastfeed among mothers with babies aged 0–6 months.

  Recruiting Acibadem University · Istanbul, Ataşehir · NCT07067554

• Motivational training for future physical education teachers

  This study is testing a new motivational training program for future physical education teachers to see if it helps them become more effective and inspiring in their teaching.

  Recruiting Universidad de Zaragoza · Huesca, Aragon · NCT06924554

• Educational escape game to boost student motivation and success

  This study tests if playing an educational escape game can help students in an elderly care program feel more motivated and succeed better than those using traditional learning methods.

  Recruiting Muş Alparslan University · Muş · NCT06859749

• Motivational interviewing to improve diabetes self-management and reduce cyberchondria

  This study is testing if motivational interviewing can help people with Type 2 diabetes better manage their condition and reduce their anxiety about health information found online.

  Recruiting Ataturk University · Van, Van · NCT06826703

• Exploring how motivation affects learning through a treasure task

  This study tests how motivation impacts learning by having participants play a treasure hunt game while their brain activity is monitored.

  Recruiting Temple University · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · NCT06257433

• Using MRI to understand and self-regulate motivation in healthy individuals

  This study is testing if healthy people can boost their motivation and decision-making by learning to control their brain activity using MRI technology.

  Recruiting Duke University · Durham, North Carolina · NCT05929898

• Animal-assisted therapy for children with PTSD

  This study tests whether including an animal in therapy helps kids aged 9 to 17 with PTSD feel more motivated and complete their treatment better than standard therapy alone.

  Recruiting at 2 sites University of Basel · Basel and 1 other locations · NCT05608551

• Using dogs to enhance psychotherapy for children and adolescents

  This study tests if having dogs in therapy sessions can help kids and teens with mental health issues feel more motivated and connected to their therapists.

  Recruiting University of Basel · Basel · NCT05384808

• Understanding motivation in Parkinson's patients using neurophysiology

  This study is testing how a brain device affects motivation and decision-making in people with Parkinson's disease while they do tasks that involve rewards.

  Recruiting University of California, San Francisco · San Francisco, California · NCT05065151

• Effects of Expectations on Dry Needling for Neck Pain

  This study is testing how different types of expectations—positive, neutral, or negative—affect pain relief and body responses in people getting dry needling for neck pain.

  Recruiting University of Alcala · Alcalá de Henares, Madrid · NCT04636879

NIH-funded research (newest 40 of 70)

Early-stage science funded by the US National Institutes of Health. Most of these projects don't enroll patients, but they show what is being worked on.

• Motivation for Alcohol Use in Humans and How It Can Be Measured

  This grant explores how people are motivated to drink alcohol and tests a safe, controlled way to study that motivation to inform better treatments for alcohol use disorder.

  NIH research University of California Los Angeles · Los Angeles, United States · NIH-11632189

• Effects of ADT on motivation and emotion in prostate cancer patients

  This project looks at how androgen deprivation therapy may affect motivation and mood over time in men with prostate cancer.

  NIH research VA Connecticut Healthcare System · West Haven, United States · NIH-11615971

• SMART: a program to help people who use drugs in Atlanta stay on HIV prevention and treatment

  A new program aims to help people who use drugs in Atlanta, especially those who are unhoused or unstably housed, stay connected to HIV prevention and treatment and related services.

  NIH research Florida State University · Tallahassee, United States · NIH-11470972

• Understanding how kids with autism talk and stay motivated across ages and people

  A long-term study following autistic and non-autistic kids from late childhood into early adolescence to see how social communication and motivation change over time.

  NIH research Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill · Chapel Hill, United States · NIH-11465716

• Motivation Matters! a smartphone support tool to boost HIV medicines adherence in HIV+ sex workers

  A smartphone-based program helps HIV+ women who sex-work with adherence to antiretroviral therapy, aiming to keep their HIV under control.

  NIH research University of Washington · Seattle, United States · NIH-11416458

• Understanding motivation in the brain's VTA GABA/glutamate system and its link to mood disorders

  A researcher at Dartmouth will study how a specific brain circuit that uses both inhibitory and excitatory signals influences motivation and mood disorders like depression and bipolar disorder.

  NIH research Dartmouth College · Hanover, United States · NIH-11401131

• Motivation-based teen vaping profile to guide quitting help

  Aims to understand why adolescents vape and use that knowledge to tailor stopping tools that fit teens.

  NIH research University of Louisville · Louisville, United States · NIH-11399916

• Understanding why people with alcohol use issues want more alcohol and how to help them

  A research project at UCLA is exploring what motivates people to drink alcohol and how that motivation could be measured and treated in real-world settings.

  NIH research University of California Los Angeles · Los Angeles, United States · NIH-11392470

• Genes that make cues trigger stronger cocaine craving

  This project looks at genes that make cues trigger stronger cocaine craving, using rat models to find targets that could help people at risk of cocaine addiction.

  NIH research State University of New York at Buffalo · Amherst, United States · NIH-11379941

• Understanding how failure affects motivation in STEM education for underrepresented students

  This program explores how talking about and handling failure in STEM courses can boost motivation and persistence for historically excluded students.

  NIH research University of Wisconsin-Madison · Madison, United States · NIH-11375173

• Peripubertal Social Motivation and Risk for Suicidal Thoughts in Preteen Girls

  This grant studies how social motivation and puberty-related changes may raise suicide risk in preteen girls, with potential ideas for earlier identification and help.

  NIH research Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill · Chapel Hill, United States · NIH-11362734

• Understanding approach-avoidance motivation in neuropsychiatric conditions

  A patient-friendly look at a project that tests simple behavior tasks to help understand anxiety, depression, and related conditions better.

  NIH research Georgia State University · Atlanta, United States · NIH-11362172

• Brain circuits that shape social motivation in autism

  This grant studies how specific brain circuits control social motivation, with a focus on autism-related social challenges.

  NIH research Drexel University · Philadelphia, United States · NIH-11355477

• Brain circuits that drive alcohol drinking and seeking

  This work looks at how specific brain cells and circuits make people with alcohol use disorder drink or seek alcohol, especially when stopping causes bad feelings.

  NIH research Vanderbilt University · Nashville, UNITED STATES · NIH-11332491

• Orexin blockers to reduce alcohol craving

  This project will see whether medicines that block the brain chemical orexin can reduce the urge to drink in people with alcohol use disorder.

  NIH research University of Kentucky · Lexington, United States · NIH-11329086

• Comparing withdrawal symptoms and urge to use in daily vapers versus cigarette smokers

  This project compares how daily vapers and daily cigarette smokers feel and how strong their urge is to vape or smoke after 24 hours without nicotine.

  NIH research State University of New York at Buffalo · Amherst, United States · NIH-11323917

• How the brain's natural opioids in the midbrain influence motivation

  This project looks at whether natural opioid chemicals in a part of the midbrain change motivation and mood to help people with low motivation or mood disorders.

  NIH research Washington University · Saint Louis, United States · NIH-11301827

• Neural circuits behind motivation problems in an Alzheimer’s rat model

  This grant investigates why motivation and goal-directed behavior decline in a rat model of Alzheimer’s disease, aiming to uncover brain circuits that affect behavior.

  NIH research Rowan University School/osteopathic Med · Stratford, United States · NIH-11296513

• How sleep problems after stopping cocaine affect dopamine and craving

  This research looks at whether sleep problems that happen after stopping cocaine change brain dopamine signals and increase craving in people with cocaine addiction.

  NIH research Drexel University · Philadelphia, United States · NIH-11292878

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to boost activity and keep weight off after bariatric surgery

  This project uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to help adults who had bariatric surgery stay active and maintain weight loss.

  NIH research Hartford Hospital · Hartford, United States · NIH-11249641

• Investigating how social motivation affects suicidal thoughts in preteen girls exposed to childhood threats.

  This study is looking at how social feelings and experiences can affect thoughts about suicide in preteen girls who have faced tough situations, like violence, to help find better ways to support those who might be struggling as they grow up.

  NIH research Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill · Chapel Hill, United States · NIH-11239246

• Understanding what drives social motivation in autism

  Researchers are using rats with an autism-linked gene change to learn how brain circuits and behavior shape the drive to seek social interaction.

  NIH research University of Maryland Baltimore · Baltimore, United States · NIH-11224062

• Boosting motivation and success in biomedical studies for community college students and instructors

  A grant to test simple, classroom-friendly strategies that help two-year college students, especially those from underrepresented groups, stay motivated and move toward biomedical careers.

  NIH research University of Virginia · Charlottesville, United States · NIH-11218912

• Motivation Matters! mobile support to help African women who engage in sex work stay on HIV medicine

  A phone-based program using tailored reminders and motivational messages to help African women who engage in sex work keep taking their HIV medicines.

  NIH research University of Washington · Seattle, United States · NIH-11189719

• Finding why teens vape to guide better quitting programs

  Researchers will identify different reasons teens use e-cigarettes to help design quitting programs for adolescents.

  NIH research University of Louisville · Louisville, United States · NIH-11182570

• Understanding Social Connections and Past Threats to Prevent Suicide in Preteen Girls

  This project explores how social interactions and difficult childhood experiences might contribute to suicidal thoughts and behaviors in preteen girls.

  NIH research Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill · Chapel Hill, United States · NIH-11176958

• How VTA brain cells that release both GABA and glutamate affect motivation and mood

  This project looks at how a group of brain cells that release two chemicals controls motivation and mood, with the goal of helping people with depression or bipolar disorder.

  NIH research Dartmouth College · Hanover, United States · NIH-11176347

• What drives people to drink alcohol

  This project uses lab sessions where adults who drink heavily or have alcohol use disorder work to earn controlled alcohol infusions so researchers can learn what motivates drinking.

  NIH research University of California Los Angeles · Los Angeles, United States · NIH-11158859

• Understanding how brain signals affect motivation and behavior

  This study is looking at how certain brain cells in a part of the brain called the VTA affect our feelings of motivation and reward, which could help us find better treatments for conditions like depression and bipolar disorder.

  NIH research Dartmouth College · Hanover, United States · NIH-11145306

• Understanding what motivates people to drink alcohol

  This study is looking at why people with alcohol use disorder feel motivated to drink, and it involves fun tasks where participants can earn small amounts of alcohol to help researchers understand their behavior better, which could lead to better treatments for those struggling with this condition.

  NIH research University of California Los Angeles · Los Angeles, United States · NIH-11143305

• Understanding Psilocybin's Effects on Brain and Motivation in Opioid Use Disorder

  This project looks at how psilocybin might help people with opioid use disorder by understanding its effects on the brain and behavior.

  NIH research University of Pennsylvania · Philadelphia, United States · NIH-11127767

• Understanding Motivation in Brain Disorders

  This project is creating a new, easy-to-use task to better understand how motivation, both approaching rewards and avoiding threats, works in people with anxiety, depression, psychosis, and other brain-related conditions.

  NIH research Georgia State University · Atlanta, United States · NIH-11121104

• Understanding how brain circuits control social motivation

  This study is looking at how certain parts of the brain help us feel motivated to socialize, especially by exploring how the medial prefrontal cortex connects with another brain area, and it's designed for anyone interested in understanding social challenges related to conditions like autism and depression.

  NIH research Drexel University · Philadelphia, United States · NIH-11111290

• How Goals Help Older Adults Remember Important Things

  This project looks at how setting goals can help older adults remember important information, especially when they feel rushed or stressed.

  NIH research University of California Los Angeles · Los Angeles, United States · NIH-11109712

• Understanding how brain circuits influence alcohol seeking behavior

  This study looks at how certain parts of the brain affect the urge to drink alcohol, especially for people struggling with Alcohol Use Disorder, and it aims to understand how negative feelings when not drinking might push them to keep drinking, which could help find better ways to prevent relapse.

  NIH research Vanderbilt University · Nashville, UNITED STATES · NIH-11087621

• Comparing withdrawal symptoms between vapers and cigarette smokers

  This study is looking at how people who vape and those who smoke regular cigarettes feel when they try to stop using nicotine, focusing on things like cravings and emotions, to help us understand what keeps them motivated to use these products.

  NIH research State University of New York at Buffalo · Amherst, United States · NIH-11081008

• How blocking orexin affects alcohol motivation

  This study is looking at how a brain system called the orexin system affects cravings for alcohol in people with alcohol use disorder, and it invites patients to try a medication that might help reduce their desire for alcohol and improve their sleep.

  NIH research University of Kentucky · Lexington, United States · NIH-11055390

• How hormone therapy affects motivation and emotions in prostate cancer patients

  This study is looking at how hormone therapy for prostate cancer affects motivation and emotions in men, helping us understand the side effects they might face, like feeling more anxious or down, so we can better support their overall well-being during and after treatment.

  NIH research VA Connecticut Healthcare System · West Haven, United States · NIH-11043405

• How sleep problems during cocaine abstinence affect motivation to use cocaine

  This study is looking at how sleep problems might affect cravings for cocaine when someone is trying to stay sober, using rats to see how changes in brain chemicals during sleep can influence these urges, with the hope of finding new ways to help people struggling with cocaine use.

  NIH research Drexel University · Philadelphia, United States · NIH-11042790

• Helping bariatric surgery patients stay active and maintain weight loss through therapy.

  This study is looking at how a special therapy called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) can help people who have had weight loss surgery feel more motivated to stay active and exercise regularly, by connecting their personal values to their health goals.

  NIH research Hartford Hospital · Hartford, United States · NIH-11040988

Related topics

Quick answers

How many Motivation clinical trials are recruiting right now?

15, as of November 12, 2026. We update this list each time we refresh our data from ClinicalTrials.gov.

Where are these trials running?

In 5 countries. The most sites are in United States (6 trials), Turkey (Türkiye) (4 trials), Switzerland (2 trials), Spain (2 trials), France (1 trial). Each study page lists its sites and which ones are recruiting.

What phases are they in?

Phase 1/2: 1. Trials with no phase listed are usually device, behavioural or observational studies.

How do I join one?

Open a study, check the "Is this trial a fit for you?" section, then contact the study team listed on the page. They will ask a few screening questions. Asking is free and does not commit you to anything. Talk it over with your doctor first.

Find the studies that fit you

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