Could zapping the brain and playing computer games boost memory?
NCT ID NCT07526740
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether combining a non-invasive brain stimulation technique called accelerated iTBS with computerized cognitive training can help people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Fifty adults aged 60-85 will receive the brain stimulation and be randomly assigned to one of two types of computer training. The main goal is to see if the treatment is feasible and acceptable, and whether it improves memory, thinking, mood, and daily function.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and computerized cognitive training
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a non-drug way to boost memory and thinking skills in people with mild cognitive impairment.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage trial focused on feasibility, not proof of effectiveness. The results may not apply to everyone with MCI.
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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Mar 2026
- Expected to finish
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May 2030
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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60 to 85 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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: 1. Age 60-85 (inclusive). 2. English as a first/primary language. 3. Adequate sensorimotor function and verbal expressive abilities to complete all assessments. 4. Must have a co-participant (e.g. spouse, adult child or relative, sibling, cohabitator, friend, caregiver) who has at least weekly in-person contact with the participant and is willing to participate in the study as a collateral informant. 5. Meets the following requirements for current and prior medications and treatments: 1. Is on fixed pharmacotherapy (i.e. stable dose of medication/s) for ≥ 4 weeks before enrollment. This includes, but is not limited to, cholinesterase inhibitors, NMDA receptor antagonists, and antidepressants. 2. Anti-amyloid monoclonal antibody therapy for AD/MCI: * Prior treatment is permitted if last infusion occurred ≥ 8 weeks before enrollment. * Current treatment is permitted if the dose has been stable for ≥ 12 weeks before enrollment, with no planned dose change during study participation. 3. Prior TMS treatment is permitted if the last stimulation session was ≥ 24 weeks before enrollment. 6. Documented diagnosis of MCI per NIA-AA criteria or Mild Neurocognitive Disorder per DSM-5 criteria by a healthcare provider within the past year, with a presumed etiology of possible or probable AD 7. Met actuarial neuropsychological criteria for MCI43 within the past year (i.e. ≥2 impaired scores within one cognitive domain, or ≥1 impaired scores in ≥3 domains, where an impaired score is defined as ≤16th percentile using appropriate demographically-corrected norms). Exclusion Criteria: 1. Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS) score of ≤ 22 suggestive of dementia. 2. Prior diagnosis of Dementia (NIA-AA) or Major Neurocognitive Disorder (DSM-5). 3. Daily/weekly anticholinergic or sedative use. Stimulants may be allowed pending investigator review. 4. History of significant or unstable condition/s or treatments for these condition/s that may impact cognition (as determined by the study investigators) such as significant cardiac (e.g. heart failure), infectious (e.g. HIV, urinary tract infection), or metabolic disease (e.g. labile diabetes), cancer (e.g. brain cancer, chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment), severe mental illness (e.g., bipolar disorder, psychoses), alcohol or substance use disorder, developmental disorder (e.g. autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability), or other neurologic disease (e.g. movement disorder, multiple sclerosis, moderate to severe brain injury, seizures). 5. Plan to initiate treatment for AD/MCI with monoclonal antibody therapy during study participation. 6. For those currently receiving monoclonal antibody therapy, documented history of clinically significant amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) in their medical record. 7. Current use of any implanted brain stimulation device. 8. Enrolled in a clinical trial or has received an investigational medication or device in the last 30 days that may impact cognition or mood. 9. MRI contraindications (e.g., ferromagnetic implants, claustrophobia). 10. Unable or unwilling to engage in BrainHQ activities. 11. TMS contraindications (e.g., ferromagnetic implants, conditions or treatments that lower seizure threshold, taking medications that have short half-lives) or no identifiable motor threshold.
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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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Medical University of South Carolina
RECRUITINGCharleston, South Carolina, 29425, United States
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