An interventional study of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and TMS Sham in Psychological Trauma, sponsored by Emory University. Recruiting at 2 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-08.
Sponsored by Emory University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
Among 51 studies in Psychological Trauma with a site in United States — 12 open to participants now, 15 under way, none of them phase 3. Psychological Trauma · United States.
Among the 51 studies in Psychological Trauma with a site in United States, this one is the 30th largest by planned enrollment of the 42 interventional ones that give a count, is one of 3 that started in 2026, is one of 40 with no phase, reaches primary completion later than 13 of the 14 other live ones, and was the 49th registered.
140 studies on the registry are indexed under Psychological Trauma; 43 are open to participants now.
Browse Psychological Trauma studies →12 of the 51 studies in Psychological Trauma with a site in United States are open now. Recruiting first, the newest first:
University of Nevada, Reno · Sites in United States
University of California, San Francisco · Sites in United States
Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati · Sites in United States, Australia
University of Washington · Sites in United States
Ohio State University · Sites in United States
A study can be open while its sites in United States have not opened yet or have stopped. Only those recruiting at a site in United States →
Of the 28 Psychological Trauma studies recruiting now, 12 (43%) set no upper age limit and 14 (50%) stop at 75 or younger; 9 take children under 18; 10 take healthy volunteers.
This study: 18 Years to 65 Years · all sexes · healthy volunteers too.
The full table on the hub →This tab as a report to print or save as PDF → With an account.
51 studies; the count open now beside each. This study's row is marked.
First in 2009; this study’s year is marked. 3 started in 2026.
This study's planned enrollment of 50 is below the median of 80 across 108 interventional studies indexed under Psychological Trauma.
Median enrollment 89 across the 42 interventional studies, 120 across the 9 observational. Of the 27 that completed or were terminated, 5 (19%) have results posted.
This tab as a report to print or save as PDF → With an account.
2 of 51 have an industry lead sponsor. The 10 most frequent:
Emory University is the lead sponsor of 1,405 studies on the registry; 225 are open to participants now.
Of its 237 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 178 (75%) have results posted.
Emory University has 1 study filed under Psychological Trauma — fewer than ten, so there is no comparison to draw.
8 of the studies in Psychological Trauma with a site in United States that are under way reach primary completion within a year, 0 of them phase 3. Phase 3 first, then by date:
| Study | Primary completion |
|---|---|
| NCT06285708Ohio State UniversityEnhancing the Effectiveness of Prolonged Exposure Among Suicidal Individuals With PTSD | 2026-12 |
| NCT06175104Children's Hospital Medical Center, CincinnatiHeartGPS: A Study Exploring the Effects of a Psychological Intervention for Parents and Their Babies After Prenatal Cardiac Diagnosis | 2026-12 |
| NCT07845292Pisareva Citadel Group LLCMethodology of Super-Early Training of Developer Engineers and Leading Analysts With a Diagnosis of ADHD/ASD for Ensuring the Engineering Sovereignty of the State: Time Horizon: 2026-2038-2050 | 2026-12-31 |
| NCT05192434Drexel UniversityTrauma Intervention to Optimize PrEP Among Women Who Inject Drugs | 2026-12-31 |
| NCT07129590University of California, San FranciscoTrauma-Informed Care for Smoking Cessation for Pregnancy | 2026-12-31 |
Among the 51 studies in Psychological Trauma with a site in United States, from their registry updates:
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PTSD is one of the most universal and severe psychiatric disorders whose incidence continues to rise due to the common exposure to severe trauma in the United States and worldwide. After trauma, a proportion of individuals maintains high symptoms of PTSD and depression, which can persist for years. The early weeks following trauma present a unique opportunity to deliver early interventions that can prevent chronic PTSD and depression from occurring, and the researchers propose a brain-based intervention that will reduce reactivity to threat, an early risk mechanism for chronic PTSD. This study is being done to learn more about whether brain stimulation in the weeks after a trauma can change brain activity that is linked to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
After experiencing a traumatic event, there is a risk of developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which can disrupt everyday life and functioning. It is now well-recognized that many individuals experience initial psychological symptoms acutely following a traumatic event, but many recover naturally within the first 3 months post-trauma. However, about 20% of individuals continue to maintain high levels of debilitating symptoms that can persist for years following the trauma in the absence of treatment. Initial hyperarousal is a predictor of subsequent re-experiencing and avoidance symptoms. Such chronic symptoms present the greatest burden to individuals, associated with increasingly ingrained behavioral responses such as avoidance, decreasing quality of life, and the physiological consequences of chronic allostatic load, including cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. The burden to society is similarly tremendous, and annual costs associated with chronic post-trauma psychopathology are estimated to exceed $230 billion.
Interventions in the early post-trauma period could therefore provide an immense benefit to society by enhancing mechanisms that lead to recovery and resilience, thereby reducing chronic trauma-related psychopathology. This study is being done to test Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) for early intervention for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Researchers will test TMS in the weeks following a psychological trauma among individuals experiencing symptoms associated with acute stress. This usage of TMS is experimental. The study is being done to learn more about whether brain stimulation in the weeks after a trauma can change brain activity that is linked to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
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.
Exclusion 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.
The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.
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.
DSM diagnostic criteria
The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
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.
All participants will complete two days that will contain both neuroimaging and TMS components and will take approximately 4 hours. Some TMS components will consist of active TMS, and other TMS components will consist of sham (placebo) TMS.
Device: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
All participants will experience multiple single-blind sham control TMS sessions (30-minute sessions) and post-sham MRI scan.
Other: TMS Sham
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive, FDA-approved procedure for pharmaco-resistant depression and is widely used in clinical and research settings. It uses magnetic pulses to stimulate underactive nerve cells in the brain, primarily treating depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) when other treatments fail. It is a safe, outpatient treatment, usually involving a 20-40 minute session.
TMS Sham is equivalent to a drug placebo. The experience is the same with the noise and vibration of the TMS coil, however, no magnetic stimulation occurs. Participants will be blinded to the condition during the TMS days to prevent bias in responding during the MRI tasks
Amygdala Reactivity During Fear Processing Pre- to Post TMS
Amygdala reactivity during fear processing will be assessed by fMRI responses as participants viewed 15 blocks each of fearful face and neutral face stimuli, while amygdala reactivity was measured. The amygdala will be separated into the right and left hemispheres. The right amygdala is the primary outcome measure. fMRI measures the blood oxygen level-dependent response, a measure of how much more oxygenated blood there is in a certain brain region, which reflects activation of the brain region. For analysis of amygdala reactivity to threat cues, volume-averaged beta values for each condition (fearful faces, neutral faces) will be extracted. Right amygdala threat reactivity will be compared between receiving any versus no TMS
Time frame: Baseline, day 1 post-TMS intervention and day 2 post-TMS intervention
Response assessment of amygdala threat reactivity for different doses
Change in amygdala threat reactivity, defined as blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response to threat-related stimuli measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), comparing different doses of TMS.
Time frame: Baseline, day 1 post-TMS intervention and day 2 post-TMS intervention
Plan to share: Yes — The research team will share Individual Participant data that has been deidentified with the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Data Archive (DA) as per the terms of the grant
Time frame: Data will become available after the study and will follow the standard NDA access rules
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Started Jun 2026 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Mar 2028, 21 months after the start.
Of 82 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Psychological Trauma, half reached primary completion within 24 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 12 and three quarters within 46. This study's planned 21 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 83 studies reached it within 24 months; a quarter within 12 and three quarters within 46.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
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