An interventional study of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in Borderline Personality Disorder, sponsored by University of California, Los Angeles. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-02-03.
Sponsored by University of California, Los Angeles · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other
This pilot study aims to identify the area of the brain best suited for the treatment of Borderline Personality disorder (BPD). The study investigators will test whether repetitiveTranscranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), a gentle non-invasive brain stimulation method, can improve regulation of emotions and impulsivity in individuals with BPD.
This study will enroll up to 20 participants. Participant will be consented for the study remotely via a secure internet platform called Zoom. Participants will undergo 1 Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI scan and up to 3 brain stimulation of transcranial magnetic stimulation or TMS sessions, and cognitive behavioral testing on a computer.
Participants will complete 4 in-person visits over the course of up to 3 weeks.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious neuropsychiatric illness with a prevalence of 1-5% in the general population. Two core symptoms of BPD are emotional dysregulation and increased impulsivity. These dysfunctions are associated with depression, anxiety, and impulsive acts, particularly acts of self-harm that may include suicide. Current treatment options for BPD include specialized psychotherapies and pharmacotherapy, which are of limited benefit for many patients. There is an urgent need for development of novel and more effective treatments.
BPD may arise from dysfunction of brain circuits involved in emotional regulation. A circuit-based treatment such as repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) holds promise for treatment of BPD. Several recent studies examined rTMS treatment in BPD and found it was well tolerated with encouraging signs of clinical efficacy. Advances in affective neuroscience, combined with progress in brain imaging and neuromodulation technology, make it possible to develop new circuit-based approaches to rTMS that could enhance efficacy for treatment for BPD. Evidence from task- based neuroimaging in BPD showed hyperactivity in the amygdala (a brain structure implicated in the generation of negative emotions) along with diminished top-down prefrontal-amygdala circuit control. These findings suggest that neuroimaging-guided rTMS stimulation of this circuit could enhance emotional regulation and behavioral control in patients with BPD and have greater therapeutic benefit.
This project aims to explore a novel circuit-based rTMS treatment protocol for BPD. 20 subjects with BPD will be recruited and undergo resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to identify regions in the right and left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) having strongest connectivity with the right and left amygdala. These will be used as individualized targets for neuronavigated excitatory intermittent theta burst (iTBS) rTMS of right, left, and bilateral VLPFC. Change in measures of impulse control and emotion regulation will be examined pre-post single rTMS sessions to determine which stimulation target(s) show the greatest VLPFC-amygdala circuit engagement.
The study investigators will examine the effects of right-sided, left-sided, and bilateral VLPFC stimulation in 20 subjects to determine which target(s) show the greatest signal of engagement of the VLPFC-amygdala network.
269 studies on the registry are indexed under Borderline Personality Disorder; 67 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 20 is below the median of 70 across 215 interventional studies indexed under Borderline Personality Disorder.
Browse Borderline Personality Disorder studies →University of California, Los Angeles is the lead sponsor of 1,142 studies on the registry; 192 are open to participants now.
Of its 91 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 66 (73%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Exclusion Criteria:
Each subjects will receive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation or TMS to 3 different brain regions in 3 separate study visits spaced by at least 4 days (order randomized and counterbalanced amongst subjects). 1. Right Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex or VLPFC 2. Left VLPFC 3. Bilateral: left and right VLPFC within 1 session The experimenters will utilize the MagVenture MagPro X100 stimulator equipped with the Cool B70 coil stimulate The TMS protocol includes 1800 pulses of excitatory intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) at 120% MT intensity. This protocol will take less than 9 minutes (for each target).
Device: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of depression. Using pulsed magnetic fields, transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy stimulates the part of the brain thought to be involved with mood regulation. These magnetic fields do not directly affect the whole brain; they only reach about 2-3 centimeters into the brain directly beneath the treatment coil.As these magnetic fields move into the brain, they produce very small electrical currents. These electrical currents activate cells within the brain, causing them to rewire, a process called neuroplasticity.
Delay Discounting Task (Odum, 2011)
The Delay Discounting Task (DDT) is cognitive behavioral task performed to evaluate how individuals value rewards over time. It measures the tendency of individuals to prefer smaller, immediate rewards over larger, delayed ones. This behavior is known as delay discounting.
Time frame: Baseline, Visit 4 (up to 3 weeks)
Cognitive Reappraisal of Social Exclusion Pain Task (Zhao et al., 2021)
This task involves a comparison between a social exclusion group and a social inclusion group, and uses a pain-induction or pain-stimulus paradigm to measure the effects of social exclusion on individuals' perception and regulation of pain
Time frame: Baseline, Visit 4 (up to 3 weeks)
This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Jan 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Borderline Personality Disorder→
University of California, Los Angeles