ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT07336251Updated Jun 15, 2026

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Veterans With PTSD

An interventional study of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, sponsored by White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 19 Years to 70 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-06-15.

Sponsored by White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Jan 2026; still recruiting 9 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
20
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
19 Years to 70 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

With this research investigators hope to begin to understand how rTMS can improve posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. TMS improves PTSD through two interrelated mechanisms: change in brain limbic system function and change in systemic inflammatory activation. Participants who decide to join this study, will receive ten rTMS treatments. All participants will undergo a 40-minute rTMS procedure with a member of the study team 10 times over 2-4 weeks. Participants will undergo fMRI scans of the head in order to help researchers better understand potential effects of rTMS on brain activity. In addition, participants will be asked to give two breath and blood samples to look for signs of general inflammation.

02

Conditions studied

  • PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Browse trials for

03

In context

Combat Disorders

200 studies on the registry are indexed under Combat Disorders; 90 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 20 is below the median of 72 across 167 interventional studies indexed under Combat Disorders.

Browse Combat Disorders studies →

Lead sponsor

White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center is the lead sponsor of 24 studies on the registry; 4 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
19 Years to 70 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age between 19 and 70
  • Eligible for VA healthcare
  • Moderate to severe PTSD as determined by a total score of at least 25 on the CAPS within 7 days of randomization.
  • Agree to have CAPS audio recorded.
  • Ability to obtain a Motor Threshold using the TMS device during screening.
  • If female with , use of acceptable method of (i.e., use of contraceptives, abstinence).
  • Able to read, understand, and sign the document.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnant or lactating woman.
  • MRI is
  • Current use of clozapine (any dose) or bupropion (more than 300mg per day).
  • Cardiac pacemaker or implantable defibrillator.
  • Presence of any metal object in the head, including cochlear implants, but excluding dental work in the mouth.
  • Significant central nervous system disorder (stroke, brain mass, epilepsy).
  • Seizure in past one year.
  • Current psychosis or mania.
  • Significant suicidal ideation.
  • Unstable medical conditions.
  • Current alcohol or substance use disorder (except nicotine) that interferes with the patient's ability to participate.
  • CPT or PE for PTSD in the past 2 months.
  • Changes in Fluoxetine, Paroxetine, Sertraline, or Venlafaxine in the past 2 months.
  • Color blind
  • Currently participating in other research studies.
  • Aneurysm Clip
  • Ocular foreign body (e.g., metal shavings)
  • Any implanted device (pumps, infusion devices, etc.)
  • Shrapnel injuries or metal fragments
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(4)

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.

Childbearing potential

Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).

Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

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.

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.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
20 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Participants receiving open label trial of TMS

    Device: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Interventions

  • DeviceTranscranial Magnetic Stimulation

    10 sessions of low frequency rTMS (1Hz) applied to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Frequency and intensity of PTSD symptoms as assessed by the CAPS-5

    The CAPS is a clinician-administered scale of PTSD symptoms, which queries the frequency and intensity of symptoms of PTSD

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 3 months

  2. 20 item self-report of PTSD symptoms assessed by PCL-5

    It asks participants to rate the severity of each of the 20 symptoms of PTSD in DSM-5

    Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 3 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. A quick self-reported and self administered inventory of depressive symptoms (QIDS-16-SR)

    This is a self-reported, self- administered scale of depressive symptoms.

    Time frame: From the baseline to the end of the study at 3 months

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • White River Junction VA Hospital
    White River Junction, Vermont 05001, United States
    Recruiting
    • Bradley Watts, MD, MPH · Contactbradley.watts@va.gov · 802-295-9363
    • Bradley Watts,MD, MPH · Principal investigator
    • Brian Shiner MD, MPH · Sub investigator
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 15, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07336251
Lead sponsor
White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Responsible party
Bradley Watts (Staff Psychiatrist, White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jan 13, 2026
Start date
Jan 15, 2026
Primary completion
Jan 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Jan 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Jun 15, 2026

Study contacts

Bradley V Watts, MD, MPH
Contact
bradley.watts@va.gov
802-295-9363 ext. 5235
Julian Sewall
Contact
julian.sewall@va.gov
603-266-7140
Bradley Watts
principal investigator · US Department of Veterans Affairs

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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