Brain zaps and scans: new hope for alcohol addiction?
NCT ID NCT05621538
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether combining fMRI neurofeedback (brain activity training) and TMS (magnetic brain stimulation) can help people with alcohol use disorder drink less and feel fewer cravings. About 90 adults aged 19-65 who are already in treatment will attend weekly sessions for 4 weeks, then be followed for up to 12 months. The goal is to see if these brain-based techniques improve long-term control over drinking.
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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 90 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2025
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2026
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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19 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.
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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 19-65 2. Receiving treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder Exclusion Criteria: 1. MRI Contraindications 1. Presence of metal in the body that would make having a 7T MRI unsafe (including facial tattoos) 2. Claustrophobia, such that individual would be unable to stay in the MRI for up to 1 hr 3. Hearing loss, including tinnitus, that might be made worse by MRI or TMS 2. TMS Contraindications 1. Has ever had a seizure, or has a family history of epilepsy 2. Taking medications or substances that lower the seizure threshold 3. Implanted devices that are in the head or rely on physiological signals 4. History of neurological disease, such as stroke or brain tumor 5. Head injury with loss of consciousness greater than 30 minutes 6. Actively withdrawing from alcohol 3. Family history of schizophrenia or presence of psychotic symptoms
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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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Auburn University
RECRUITINGAuburn, Alabama, 36849, United States
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