Can magnetic pulses quiet voices in schizophrenia?
NCT ID NCT03284138
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tested whether repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) can reduce certain core symptoms of schizophrenia, called first rank symptoms. Thirty-one patients received either real rTMS or a sham (fake) treatment over 10 sessions in 5 days. The goal was to see if the brain stimulation could ease symptoms and to understand how it affects brain activity.
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 offer a non-drug way to reduce certain schizophrenia symptoms.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study with only 31 participants. The results may not apply to everyone, and the treatment may not work better than a placebo.
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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31 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Aug 2018
- Finished
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Mar 2023
- 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.
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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: * Suffering from schizophrenia (according to DSM IV-TR) * Presenting FRS at least once a day despite well-conducted antipsychotic treatment, objectified by FRS subscore of the SAPS (items 2, 3 and items 15-19) with at least two FRS listed \> 1 of the corresponding item of the SAPS * Being informed of the objectives and constraints of the study and signing the consent form or signing by the guardian * Patient having had a preliminary clinical examination Exclusion Criteria: * Left-lateralized * Previously treated with rTMS in the previous 6 month, * Contraindications of the rTMS practice: unstabilized epilepsy, presence of foreign eye metallic material, pacemaker, neurostimulator, cochlear implants and in general all medical equipment installed immovably, metal heart valve, vascular clips formerly located on cranial aneurysm * Pregnancy or breastfeeding women * hospitalization under constraint * Subject already involved in another interventional clinical research evaluating schizophrenia treatment * patient with severe drug use disorder (excluding coffee and tobacco) according to the DSM-5 criteria
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Louis Mourier
Colombes, 92700, France