An interventional study of PRIME TMS and Standard TMS in Tobacco Use Disorder, sponsored by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 60 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-10.
Sponsored by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a personalized, brain-scan-guided form of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) works better than a standard TMS approach at changing reward-related brain activity in adults who smoke cigarettes. The main questions it aims to answer are:
Does personalized TMS produce a greater change in reward-related brain activity than the standard approach? Does personalized TMS lead to a greater reduction in cravings and cigarette smoking than the standard approach?
Researchers will compare personalized TMS, which targets a treatment location chosen from each participant's own brain scan, to a standard TMS approach, which targets a location based on anatomical landmarks, to see if the personalized approach produces stronger effects on brain reward activity and smoking behavior.
Participants will:
Complete an magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scan and questionnaires about their smoking habits and mood Be randomly assigned to receive either personalized TMS or the standard TMS approach Attend 15 TMS treatment sessions over 3 weeks (Monday through Friday), including brain wave (EEG) recordings and craving check-ins before and after each session Return for follow-up visits 1 week and 1 month after finishing treatment
People with tobacco use disorder often show changes in how their brain responds to rewards. A brain region involved in this process can be measured using a brain wave (EEG) signal that reflects how strongly the brain reacts to rewards. This study looks at whether a personalized form of brain stimulation can shift that signal more effectively than a standard approach.
The personalized approach, Pathway-precise Reward Intervention via Midcingulate Engagement (PRIME) TMS uses each participant's own brain scan to find the stimulation location that is most strongly connected to the brain's reward center, rather than using the same general location for everyone. Stimulation is also paired with a short reward-based computer task during the session, based on the idea that engaging the brain's reward system during stimulation may strengthen its effects. The standard approach uses a fixed stimulation location based on external head landmarks and is delivered without any task.
Participants are randomly assigned to one of the two approaches, similar to a coin flip, with the assignment balanced to make sure both groups have similar mixes of smoking severity and mood symptoms. Both groups receive the same number of sessions (15), on the same schedule (weekdays for 3 weeks), and the same strength and dose of stimulation. The only differences are where the stimulation is delivered and whether participants complete a task during it.
Study visits include an initial screening, a brain scan to plan the intervention, a baseline visit with brain wave recording and questionnaires, the three weeks of stimulation sessions, a follow-up assessment shortly after the sessions end, and two brief check-in calls at 1 week and 1 month later. Throughout the study, the research team monitors participants closely for side effects using standardized safety checklists, and all equipment used (the stimulation device, positioning system, brain wave recorder, and MRI scanner) is already cleared by the FDA for other uses.
The study will compare how much each approach changes brain reward activity, cravings, and smoking amounts, and will look at whether changes in brain activity help explain any changes in cravings or smoking behavior.
1,027 studies on the registry are indexed under Tobacco Use Disorder; 128 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 54 is below the median of 90 across 892 interventional studies indexed under Tobacco Use Disorder.
Browse Tobacco Use Disorder studies →Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey is the lead sponsor of 506 studies on the registry; 131 are open to participants now.
Of its 39 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 31 (79%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Participants receive 15 sessions of 10 Hz repetitive TMS over 3 weeks (Monday-Friday), delivered at 110% of resting motor threshold. The stimulation target is an individualized dorsolateral prefrontal cortex location identified from each participant's diffusion-weighted MRI as having maximal structural connectivity to the midcingulate cortex. Stimulation is delivered concurrently with a brief reward-based cognitive task performed during inter-train intervals, intended to engage the brain's reward circuitry during treatment.
Device: PRIME TMS
Participants receive 15 sessions of 10 Hz repetitive TMS over 3 weeks (Monday-Friday), delivered at 110% of resting motor threshold. The stimulation target is a dorsolateral prefrontal cortex location identified using standardized anatomical landmarks on structural MRI, without individualized connectivity mapping. Stimulation is delivered without a concurrent cognitive task. This approach reflects a well-established TMS protocol with a long-standing published safety and efficacy record.
Device: Standard TMS
Repetitive TMS (10 Hz, 3,000 pulses per session, 110% resting motor threshold) delivered via a figure-8 coil using robotic neuronavigation. The stimulation target is an individualized dorsolateral prefrontal cortex location identified from each participant's diffusion-weighted MRI as having maximal structural connectivity to the midcingulate cortex. Delivered over 15 sessions across 3 weeks, concurrently with a brief reward-based cognitive task performed during inter-train intervals.
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (10 Hz, 3,000 pulses per session, 110% resting motor threshold) delivered via a figure-8 coil using robotic neuronavigation. The stimulation target is a dorsolateral prefrontal cortex location identified using standardized anatomical landmarks on structural MRI, without individualized connectivity mapping. Delivered over 15 sessions across 3 weeks, without a concurrent cognitive task.
Change in Reward Positivity Amplitude
Reward positivity, an event-related potential (ERP) component measured via EEG during a virtual T-maze reward task, reflecting midcingulate cortex sensitivity to reward. Change from baseline to post-intervention will be compared between the PRIME TMS and Standard TMS arms.
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1, prior to Session 1) and Day 19 (within 3 days following completion of the 15-TMS sessions course), approximately Weeks 1 and 6
Change in Tobacco Craving Questionnaire (TCQ) Score
Multidimensional self-report measure of cigarette craving, including emotionality, expectancy, compulsivity, and purposefulness subscales. Total score ranges from 12 to 84 (4 subscales, ranging from 3 to 21), with higher scores indicating greater craving
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1, prior to Session 1) and Day 19 (within 3 days following completion of the 15-session course), with follow-up at approximately Week 1 and Week 6.
Change in Questionnaire of Smoking Urges-Brief (QSU-B) Score
10-item Self-report measure of urge to smoke, assessing hedonic craving and anticipated relief from negative affect/withdrawal. Total score ranges from 10 to 70, with higher scores indicating greater urge to smoke.
Time frame: Baseline (Day 1, prior to Session 1) and Day 19 (within 3 days following completion of the 15-TMS session course), with follow-up at approximately Week 1 and Week 6.
Change in Daily Cigarette Consumption
Self-reported cigarettes smoked per day, captured via daily tobacco diary and Timeline Follow-Back interview, corroborated with breath carbon monoxide level.
Time frame: Baseline through 1-month follow-up
Plan to share: Yes — De-identified individual participant data will be shared, including: structural and diffusion-weighted MRI data; EEG recordings collected during the reward-based task at baseline and post-intervention; behavioral performance data from the reward task and the Probabilistic Selection Task; and questionnaire-based measures of craving (TCQ, QSU-B), smoking behavior (cigarette consumption, carbon monoxide levels), and nicotine dependence severity (FTND). All data will be stripped of direct identifiers, dates, and geographic identifiers smaller than state level prior to sharing, consistent with NIH data-sharing requirements.
Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan, Informed consent form
Time frame: Data will be prepared for repository deposit and made available beginning 12-18 months after study completion, or upon publication of primary results, whichever occurs first. Once deposited, de-identified data will remain available indefinitely, consistent with NIH data-retention requirements for de-identified research data. No end date is specified for data availability.
Access criteria: Access will be limited to qualified researchers who submit a data use request through the applicable repository (OpenNeuro for neuroimaging data; NIMH Data Archive for behavioral, EEG, and questionnaire data). Applicants must agree to the repository's data use agreement, restricting use to approved research purposes and prohibiting re-identification attempts. Requests are reviewed and approved by repository administrators, not directly by the study team.
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