Can magnetic pulses unlock memory secrets in early psychosis?
NCT ID NCT05857137
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Sep 11, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study uses a noninvasive brain stimulation technique called TMS, combined with brain scans, to understand working memory problems in people with early psychosis. Twenty participants will receive both active and placebo TMS to see how it affects brain activity and memory performance. The goal is to learn about the brain mechanisms involved, not to provide a 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 help identify brain targets for future treatments to improve memory in early psychosis.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early-stage study with only 20 participants. It is designed to understand brain function, not to test a treatment, so direct benefits are unlikely.
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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About 20 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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Jun 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 to 35 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: * Diagnosis of psychosis, psychosis not otherwise specified, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, bipolar disorder with psychosis, and schizophreniform disorder within first ten years of onset of psychotic symptoms. * Ability to provide informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * TMS incompatibility including metallic implants in head and neck, cardiac pacemakers, history of seizures, pregnancy. * MRI-incompatibility including implanted aneurism clips, cardiac pacemakers, metal implants, intrauterine devices, tattoos containing metal ink, pregnancy, and claustrophobia * Severe substance abuse within 3 months (nicotine allowed) * Unstable medical or neurologic illness that would preclude participation in study procedures
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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
-
Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging
Charlestown, Massachusetts, 02129, United States
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