An observational study in PTSD, Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors and PTSD Symptoms, sponsored by Wayne State University. Enrolling by invitation at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 19 Years to 69 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-21.
Sponsored by Wayne State University · Observational
This study will be the first to use brain imaging to explore how cannabis affects the brain and inflammation in U.S. military veterans with PTSD. It builds on an ongoing study testing different combinations of THC and CBD in 200 veterans. In this project, up to 100 veterans will complete brain scans before and after 12 weeks of cannabis administration to see how the brain changes over time. The scans will measure a marker sensitive to neuroinflammatory state, brain communication, and activity during thinking and emotion tasks. By linking these brain changes to improvements in PTSD symptoms, suicidal thoughts, and quality of life, this study may help identify which veterans benefit most from cannabis-based treatments and support more personalized care for PTSD.
This study, referred to here as the 'Neuroimaging Study,' is a supplement (add-on) to our ongoing VMR study (Wayne State Warriors Marijuana Clinical Research Program: Investigating the Impact of Cannabinoids on Veterans' Behavioral Health", PIs: Lundahl and Ledgerwood), which will be referred to as the 'Parent Study'. The Neuroimaging Study will be the first-ever neuroimaging study of cannabis treatment in US armed forces veterans with PTSD, or in any population. The Parent Study involves randomizing 200 veterans with PTSD into one of four different THC (∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol) : CBD (cannabidiol) dose conditions (High THC:High CBD; HighTHC:Low CBD; Low THC:High CBD, and Low THC:Low CBD) for a 12-week treatment phase. For the Neuroimaging Study, half of the 200 participants from the Parent Study (up to N=100; i.e., roughly 25 of the 50 participants in each dose condition) will additionally complete two brain imaging assessments: one before (i.e., 'baseline' scan) and one after the 12-week treatment period (i.e., 'post-treatment' scan). Primary outcomes include: A) neuroinflammatory state as measured via positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with the radiotracer, 1-(2-[+F]fluoroethyl)-L-tryptophan or [18F]FETrp; B) resting or 'basal' neural network communication as measured via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); and C) brain activation during well-validated inhibitory control (Go/No-Go), emotion regulation (Emotional Stroop), and reward processing (Duke Card Guessing) tasks as measured via fMRI. We will focus on brain regions that are consistently linked to both PTSD symptom severity and suicidal ideation, and that are densely populated with cannabinoid receptors (which are modulated by acute cannabis/cannabinoid administration). Further, the collection of whole-brain, multi-modal neuroimaging data (structural MRI, functional MRI, and PET imaging data) during the same session will allow us to explore the impact of cannabis/cannabinoid administration on the relationship between neuroinflammatory state and neural network activation and interactions throughout the brain, and link these brain metrics to clinical outcomes (e.g., reduction in suicidal ideation or PTSD/depression symptoms over time). This highly innovative approach will provide unprecedented insight into the neurobiological underpinnings of PTSD and suicidal ideation and the potential therapeutic effects of cannabis (and associated brain mechanisms) on these and other critical outcomes (e.g., quality of life, depressive symptoms). Findings from this Neuroimaging Study may also identify veterans who will benefit most from cannabinoid therapeutics and specific THC:CBD dose combinations therein, and thus, may inform a personalized medicine approach for veterans with PTSD in the future.
2,682 studies on the registry are indexed under Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; 601 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 100 is below the median of 150 across 371 observational studies indexed under Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic.
Browse Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic studies →Wayne State University is the lead sponsor of 230 studies on the registry; 35 are open to participants now.
Of its 17 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 4 (24%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Military veterans with PTSD
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria (eligible if the subject does not meet both criteria):
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraindication
A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
BMI (body mass index)
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Autoimmune disease
A condition in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease.
Immunotherapy studies often leave out active autoimmune disease, and some name exceptions, such as thyroid disease on replacement hormone. Check the exceptions this study lists.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with the radiotracer, 1-(2-\[+F\]fluoroethyl)-L-tryptophan or \[18F\]FETrp and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Drug: 1-(2-[+F]fluoroethyl)-L-tryptophan
1-(2-\[+F\]fluoroethyl)-L-tryptophan tracer will be used during PET imaging
[18F]FETrp K-complex
To quantify kynurenine uptake rate, a Patlak graphical analysis will be performed using the image-derived input function and the dynamic brain emission data. This method yields the unidirectional uptake rate constant, K-complex, in each brain region of interest. Outcome analyses will investigate associations with clinical symptoms and cognitive function at baseline, as longitudinal changes from baseline to follow-up with inter-group differences between dose conditions of particular interest.
Time frame: Baseline and follow-up (at least 12 weeks after baseline)
BOLD fMRI response
BOLD fMRI response will be isolated by contrasting activation to the contrast Go/No-Go \> Rest for the inhibitory control task, iI \> cI for the emotion regulation task, and reward \> loss for the reward task.
Time frame: Baseline and follow-up (at least 12 weeks after baseline)
Plan to share: No
Started Jan 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Aug 2030, 55 months after the start.
Of 142 non-industry observational studies under Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, half reached primary completion within 34 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 13 and three quarters within 59. This study's planned 55 months is above that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 149 studies reached it within 34 months; a quarter within 14 and three quarters within 54.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
No contact was published for this record. The registry link below has the sponsor’s details.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic →