Brain zaps tailored to you: new PTSD therapy shows promise
NCT ID NCT06294106
First seen Jul 02, 2026 · Last updated Jul 02, 2026
Summary
This study tests a new way to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) using personalized brain stimulation. Researchers use an EEG to find the right frequency for each person, then apply transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to the frontal lobe. The trial includes 20 veterans or first responders with PTSD and compares the real treatment to a sham version to see if it safely reduces symptoms.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Electroencephalogram personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (eTMS)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a personalized, non-drug treatment to reduce PTSD symptoms in veterans and first responders.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small early-stage trial with 20 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The treatment is experimental and may not work better than a sham procedure.
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 20 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2024
- Expected to finish
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Sep 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 65 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: * Veteran or first responder * diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder with PCL-5 cutoff of 31 or above Exclusion Criteria: * Claustrophobia * Contraindications to MRI * Pregnant * Uncontrolled medical, psychological, or neurological conditions * Unable to calculate EEG alpha frequency * History of ECT or rTMS * History of intracranial lesion or increased intracranial pressure * History of stroke * History of other neurologic conditions * Family history of epilepsy * Personal history of epilepsy * certain medications
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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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Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
RECRUITINGRoanoke, Virginia, 24016, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Five sessions to quiet trauma nightmares in bipolar disorder
- Can training hospital staff in Trauma-Informed care make childbirth safer?
- Scientists probe brain's reward system in mental illness
- Can a mindfulness class help veterans with concussion and PTSD?
- Can MDMA plus therapy help veterans fight both PTSD and alcohol addiction?
- Can talk therapies quiet the trauma of violence?