Magnetic pulses to the brain: can they speed up reading?
NCT ID NCT06608680
First seen Sep 09, 2026 · Last updated Sep 10, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers at Georgia State University are studying how transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) affects reading speed and accuracy. About 50 adults with typical reading skills will receive either excitatory, inhibitory, or sham stimulation to a brain region called the supramarginal gyrus. The study measures how quickly people read words and whether the timing of stimulation changes its effect. Participants complete reading, language, and cognitive tests, an MRI, and motor tasks.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation to the supramarginal gyrus
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could show whether brain stimulation can temporarily sharpen reading and language processing, and when to time it for the strongest effect.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study in healthy readers, so any effects may be brief, subtle, or absent. TMS is generally considered safe but can cause scalp discomfort or headache.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 50 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2023
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 30 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Subjects must have a minimum of low average intellectual functioning (\>=80) on at least one subscale on the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence-2 (WASI-2; Wechsler, 2011) to be included. * Within a normal range of reading skills as \>85 on the Test of Word Reading Efficiency - Second Edition (TOWRE-2; Torgesen et al., 2012) and the Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement (WJ-IV; Schrank et al., 2014) * Individuals with a documented history of learning disability will not be included. This will be determined via demographics questionnaire. * Subjects must be between the ages of 18 and 30 to be included. This will be determined via demographics questionnaire. * Because reading is critically linked to language, only individuals who are native speakers of English will be included in the study. This will be determined via demographics questionnaire. * The reading network is typically localized to the left side of the brain. However, left-handed individuals may have different brain lateralization, introducing an important confound to the study. Therefore, only right-handed individuals will be included in the study. This will be determined via demographics questionnaire. * Individuals who have hearing deficits (\>25dB at 500+ Hz), visual deficits (\>20/40), serious emotional problems, certain neurological conditions (e.g., uncontrolled seizure disorders) will not be included. This will be determined via CABI Screening Forms and Demographics Questionnaire. * Individuals with certain metals in their bodies or with certain health conditions will not be included. If an individual has braces on their teeth, a cardiac pacemaker; hearing aid; other metal in their body or eyes (which may include certain metallic-embedded tattoos), including but not limited to pins, screws, shrapnel, plates, dentures or other metal objects they will not be included. This will be determined via CABI Screening forms. * Individuals with MRI Screening and Contraindication Forms which do not pass MRI Tech review will not be included. * Individuals with TMS Screening Forms which do not pass TMS Tech review will not be included.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Georgia State University
RECRUITINGAtlanta, Georgia, 30303, United States
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