Zapping the brain to tame bipolar mood swings?
NCT ID NCT03622749
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This small pilot study tested whether a non-invasive brain stimulation technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) could help people with bipolar disorder regulate their emotions. Nineteen participants, including healthy controls, completed behavioral tasks measuring emotion regulation after receiving TMS. The study aimed to understand how the brain processes emotions in bipolar disorder, not to provide a new treatment.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward a non-invasive brain stimulation technique to help people with bipolar disorder better manage their emotions.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small pilot study with only 19 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. It is early research, and the main goal was to understand emotion regulation, not to prove a treatment works.
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
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19 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Mar 2019
- Finished
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Jan 2025
- 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 55 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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: * Patients * Men and women * Ages 18-50 years * Patients diagnosed with bipolar I disorder (BD-I), current mood state euthymic. * On a stable psychiatric medication regimen for at least a month prior to and during study participation Healthy Controls: * Men and women * Ages 18-50 years * Without major psychiatric illness Exclusion Criteria: * Patients * Any change in psychiatric medications within a month prior to and during study participation * Legal or mental incompetency * Intellectual disability * Current manic (YMRS \> 12) or severe depressive episode (HAM-D-17 \> 5) * Substance use disorder (abuse or dependence) with active use within the last 3 months * Significant medical or neurological illness * Prior neurosurgical procedure * History of seizures * History of ECT treatment or clinical TMS within the past three months * Implanted cardiac pacemakers * Patients who have conductive, ferromagnetic or other magnetic-sensitive metals implanted in their head or neck, or are non-removable and within 30 cm of the treatment coil. These include: * Aneurysm clips or coils * Carotid or cerebral stents * Metallic devices implanted in the head (e.g. Implanted pacemaker, medication pump, vagal stimulator, deep brain stimulator, TENS unit, or ventriculo-peritoneal shunt) * Magnetically active dental implants * Cochlear/otologic implants * CSF shunts * Ferromagnetic ocular implants * Pellets, bullets, fragments less than 30 cm from the coil * Facial tattoos with metallic ink, permanent makeup less than 30 cm from the coil * Pregnant women Healthy Controls: * History of major psychiatric illness, including psychosis * Has a first-degree relative with psychosis * Active use of neuropsychoactive medications * Legal or mental incompetency * Intellectual disability * Substance use disorder (abuse or dependence) with active use within the last 3 months * Significant medical or neurological illness * Prior neurosurgical procedure * History of seizures * History of ECT treatment or clinical TMS within the past three months * Implanted cardiac pacemakers * Individuals who have conductive, ferromagnetic or other magnetic-sensitive metals implanted in their head or neck, or are non-removable and within 30 cm of the treatment coil. These include: * Aneurysm clips or coils * Carotid or cerebral stents * Metallic devices implanted in the head (e.g. Implanted pacemaker, medication pump, vagal stimulator, deep brain stimulator, TENS unit, or ventriculo-peritoneal shunt) * Magnetically active dental implants * Cochlear/otologic implants * CSF shunts * Ferromagnetic ocular implants * Pellets, bullets, fragments less than 30 cm from the coil * Facial tattoos with metallic ink, permanent makeup less than 30 cm from the coil * Pregnant women
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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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Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging
Charlestown, Massachusetts, 02129, United States
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