Brain scans and heart rate may reveal why PTSD therapy works
NCT ID NCT05788302
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at how prolonged exposure therapy helps people with PTSD. Researchers will track 50 adults over 17 weeks, using brain scans, heart rate, and questionnaires before, during, and after treatment. The goal is to understand the mechanisms behind the therapy, not to test if it works.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- prolonged exposure therapy
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this study could reveal how and why prolonged exposure therapy works for PTSD, helping to improve and personalize treatment.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small pilot study (50 people) focused on understanding mechanisms, not proving effectiveness. Results may not apply to everyone with PTSD.
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 2027
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 years and older
- 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 18 or older 2. Meeting diagnostic criteria for PTSD as defined by DSM-5 assessed by the Diagnostic Interview for Anxiety, Mood, and Obsessive-compulsive and related Psychiatric Disorders (DIAMOND), and 3. Interest in starting PE Exclusion Criteria: 1. Current or past history of schizophrenic or other psychotic disorders, 2. Untreated Bipolar Disorder or a history of a manic/mixed episode within the last 6 months, 3. Severe traumatic brain injury, 4. Major neurological problems, 5. Current substance use disorder of moderate or greater severity assessed by the DIAMOND, 6. Active risk to self or others, 7. Current participation in therapy other than present-centered supportive therapy, 8. Previously received \> 2 sessions of Prolonged Exposure, and 9. Having no memory of their traumatic event. 10. For participants who are currently prescribed psychotropic medication, they will be eligible for the study provided medication use has been stable for 2 months prior to enrollment and remains stable throughout participation
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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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MGH
RECRUITINGBoston, Massachusetts, 02114, United States
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