Brain scans reveal how mindfulness rewires PTSD Patients' minds
NCT ID NCT03874793
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looked at how mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) changes brain activity in 61 adults with PTSD. Participants received either MBCT or a mind-body comparison therapy, and researchers used fMRI scans to measure brain connectivity before and after treatment. The goal was to understand the brain mechanisms behind therapy, not to test a cure or new drug.
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
-
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
-
61 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
-
Jul 2019
- Finished
-
Mar 2024
- Lead sponsor
-
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
-
18 to 72 years
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
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: * Meets current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) criteria for PTSD (with or without Major Depressive Disorder) or subsyndromal PTSD (has qualifying trauma, has intrusive and avoidant symptoms, and at least one negativity and one arousal symptom, and significant impairment); type of trauma shall be interpersonal violence, combat, and/or sexual assault, etc. Exclusion Criteria: * Dissociative PTSD * Delayed-onset PTSD * Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) contraindications (e.g. metal in body, inability to be in the scanner - claustrophobia, severe back pain, etc.) * Serious medical or neurologic conditions (e.g. stroke, seizures) * Suicide risk * Psychosis * Life history of schizophrenia * Life history of bipolar disorder * Current substance dependence * Other factors that preclude safe and meaningful participation in the study, at discretion of the PI and study team
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Post traumatic stress disorder are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio, 43210, United States
-
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, 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?