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Flash therapy: could subliminal combat images ease PTSD?

NCT ID NCT06218381

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jul 30, 2026 · Updated 3 times

Summary

This study explores whether showing combat veterans with PTSD very brief, barely visible images of combat scenes can change their brain activity and reduce fear. Participants will view these images during an fMRI brain scan and rate their fear. The goal is to understand how the brain responds to this type of exposure, not yet to treat PTSD. The study compares veterans with PTSD to healthy controls.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
Very Brief Exposure to combat images (a behavioral procedure using subliminal picture flashes)
What this could lead to
If successful, this could point toward a new, non-drug treatment for PTSD that is easier to tolerate than traditional exposure therapy.
What could go wrong
This is an early, small study (80 people) focused on brain activity and fear ratings, not on curing PTSD. It may not lead to a practical treatment, and results may not apply to all veterans.

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

About 90 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Mar 2024

Expected to finish

Jul 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

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

18 to 50 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

Show 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: Patient Population * Males and females ages 18-50 * Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-5) diagnosis of PTSD * Traumatic event is a combat-based experience (e.g., being injured, watching a buddy be killed) * Minimum score of 18 on the Combat Experience Scale (CES) * Minimum score of 3 or more on Primary Care (PC)-PTSD-5 * Participants with other cooccurring psychiatric disorders (e.g., anxiety, ADHD) will be included to ensure a representative sample. Healthy Population • Males and Females, ages 18-50 Exclusion Criteria: Patient Population * Treatment for PTSD, substance abuse, or mental health concerns in the past 6 months * 10 or more years since the combat trauma * Acute intoxication * Severe level of Substance Dependence (6 or more DSM-V symptoms) * Prior diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorders * Current or past psychotic disorders or active psychotic symptoms * Current Bipolar I Disorder * Dementia * Neurological or serious medical conditions (e.g., stroke, epilepsy/ seizure disorder, cancer, Lupus, HIV+); * Traumatic brain injury Healthy Population * Ferromagnetic implants (e.g., pacemaker), metal braces, retainers, tattoos or permanent make up w/ metallic content, transdermal medicinal patches that cannot be removed * Neurological or serious medical conditions (e.g., stroke, epilepsy/ seizure disorder, cancer, Lupus, HIV+); * Lifetime Diagnosis of PTSD, Tourette's Syndrome, Bipolar Disorder, Substance Dependence, Eating Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, a psychotic disorder, Acute Stress Disorder * Lifetime history of traumatic event defined as a life-threatening event involving physical attack, guns, fire or explosion (i.e the kinds of traumatic events combat veterans are likely to experience) * Traumatic Brain Injury * Birth at less than 37 weeks gestational age * Claustrophobia * Anxiety Disorder, Mood Disorder, Substance Abuse Disorder, Adjustment Disorder in past 2 years * Treatment for mental health concern in past 2 years * Pregnant Females

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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.

  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. 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

  • Brain Imaging Lab

    RECRUITING

    Los Angeles, California, 90027, United States

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