Can magnetic pulses to the brain curb alcohol cravings?
NCT ID NCT03809286
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether a brain stimulation technique called deep rTMS can help people with alcohol use disorder drink less. Participants receive either real or sham rTMS over 3 weeks while staying in the hospital. Researchers measure changes in alcohol self-administration and cravings. The trial is currently suspended.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a non-drug treatment to help people with alcohol use disorder drink less.
- What could go wrong
- This trial is small (44 people) and currently suspended, so results are uncertain. Previous rTMS studies reduced craving but not actual drinking.
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 44 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2019
- Expected to finish
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Dec 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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22 to 55 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. Current moderate to severe alcohol use disorder, per DSM-5 2. Use of alcohol which parallels or exceeds the amount alcohol that will be administered in this study (1 drinking episode per week raising BAL to 0.03 g/dl - approximately 2 drinks within an hour). 3. Age 22-55 4. Able to give informed consent, and comply with study procedures 5. Medically healthy, with the absence of current or past medical or neurological illnesses (including glaucoma, increased intracranial pressure, liver disease, cardiac disease, or seizure disorders) Exclusion Criteria: 1. Has a contraindication to MRI, such as magnetically reactive implants, which includes metal in head except in mouth (cochlear implant, implanted brain stimulators, aneurysm clips), cardiac pacemakers, implanted neurostimulators and medication pumps, and intracardiac lines. 2. Substance use disorder with substances other than alcohol or nicotine. The current use of sedative-hypnotics or opiates will be exclusionary 3. Meets DSM-5 criteria for other psychiatric illness, such as major depression, that would interfere with participation. 4. History of seizures of any type 5. A family history of epilepsy 6. Taking psychotropic medication that would affect resting motor threshold (such as anticonvulsants) or increase risk of seizure (especially tricyclic antidepressants of neuroleptics) 7. Current suicide risk or a history of suicide attempt within the past 2 years 8. Have unstable physical disorders, including those that are previously undiagnosed, untreated, inadequately treated, or active to an extent which might make participation hazardous. For example, hypertension (a resting blood pressure \> 140/90), heart failure, a recent history of myocardial infarction, previous stroke, brain lesions, any history of seizures under any circumstances or low hemoglobin. 9. Currently pregnant 10. History of severe alcohol withdrawal requiring medical care, such as withdrawal seizures, delirium tremens, withdrawal necessitating medical detoxification. 11. A desire to pursue standard treatment for AUD, such as a rehabilitation program or FDA approved medications for AUD
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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
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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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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New York State Psychiatric Institute
New York, New York, 10032, United States
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