An interventional study of DIADEM Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation in Suicidal Ideation, Cognitive Control and Neurocognitive Function, sponsored by University of Minnesota. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-06.
Sponsored by University of Minnesota · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
SERENE is an experimental study evaluating low-intensity focused ultrasound neuromodulation of cognitive control circuitry in adults with a lifetime history of suicide attempt or suicidal ideation, but without current suicidality.
Participants will complete screening, cognitive control tasks, MRI/fMRI, ecological momentary assessments, and low-intensity focused ultrasound neuromodulation using the DIADEM system. The study will examine whether low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) neuromodulation changes cognitive control performance measured by the Multi-Source Interference Task (MSIT) and EEG event-related spectral power in the alpha and theta frequency bands.
The study will also examine the time course of LIFU effects and explore whether changes in cognitive control circuitry relate to self-reported experiences, including mood, anxiety, psychosis symptoms, suicidal ideation, and emotion regulation.
SERENE is an experimental study designed to test a personalized, non-invasive neuromodulation technique to investigate the neural basis of cognitive control.
The study will enroll adults with a lifetime history of suicide attempt or suicidal ideation, but without current suicidal ideation or behavior. Participants will be screened using the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale to confirm suicide history and exclude current suicidality. Participants will also complete MRI/fMRI-based cognitive control screening to identify cognitive control circuit function.
Participants will complete baseline cognitive and self-report assessments, including computerized cognitive tasks and clinical/self-report measures. Ecological momentary assessments will be completed before and after neuromodulation to assess symptoms and daily-life experiences related to cognitive control, including mood, anxiety, psychosis-related symptoms, suicidal ideation, and emotion regulation.
The study intervention is low-intensity focused ultrasound neuromodulation delivered using the DIADEM system. LIFU will be applied to deep brain regions involved in cognitive control, including subregions of the internal capsule and connected brain regions. During LIFU visits, participants will complete the Multi-Source Interference Task to assess cognitive control. EEG and fMRI may also be collected to evaluate neurocircuitry changes associated with LIFU.
The primary objective is to evaluate the effect of LIFU on cognitive control and associated circuitry. The study will also examine the time course of this effect, whether responses differ by baseline cognitive control circuit function, and whether changes in circuitry relate to self-reported experiences.
569 studies on the registry are indexed under Suicidal Ideation; 203 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 100 is above the median of 80 across 469 interventional studies indexed under Suicidal Ideation.
Browse Suicidal Ideation studies →University of Minnesota is the lead sponsor of 1,216 studies on the registry; 197 are open to participants now.
Of its 136 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 95 (70%) 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.
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.
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 will receive low-intensity focused ultrasound neuromodulation using the DIADEM device while completing cognitive control tasks. Stimulation may be applied to subregions of the internal capsule and connected brain regions to identify targets that modulate cognitive control performance or circuitry.
Device: DIADEM Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation
Low-intensity focused ultrasound neuromodulation will be delivered using the SPIRE DIADEM device. LIFU will be applied to subregions of deep brain circuitry involved in cognitive control, including regions within the dorsal or ventral internal capsule, surrounding striatal nuclei, and/or connected brain areas. Stimulation will be delivered by trained study staff according to device safety and screening procedures.
Also known as: SPIRE DIADEM System, LIFU Neuromodulation
Mean Reaction Time During the Multi-Source Interference Task Following LIFU at Different Internal Capsule Sites
Cognitive control performance will be assessed using the Multi-Source Interference Task (MSIT), a computerized cognitive control task. Reaction time will be measured in milliseconds. The MSIT will be administered in blocks, with one block corresponding to each internal capsule sonication site. Mean reaction time will be calculated separately for each block and compared with baseline MSIT mean reaction time. Lower reaction times indicate faster task performance.
Time frame: Baseline and during MSIT task blocks corresponding to each internal capsule LIFU sonication site
Event-Related EEG Alpha-Band Spectral Power Following LIFU
EEG alpha-band activity will be assessed using event-related spectral power during the Multi-Source Interference Task (MSIT) following LIFU. Spectral power will be baseline-normalized using a pre-stimulus reference interval from -500 to -100 milliseconds relative to the target event. Baseline normalization will be performed in the linear power domain, with results expressed in decibels (dB).
Time frame: During post-LIFU MSIT assessment at each internal capsule sonication site
Event-Related EEG Theta-Band Spectral Power Following LIFU
EEG theta-band activity will be assessed using event-related spectral power during the Multi-Source Interference Task (MSIT) following LIFU. Spectral power will be baseline-normalized using a pre-stimulus reference interval from -500 to -100 milliseconds relative to the target event. Baseline normalization will be performed in the linear power domain, with results expressed in decibels (dB).
Time frame: During post-LIFU MSIT assessment at each internal capsule sonication site
Time Course of Mean Reaction Time During the Multi-Source Interference Task Following LIFU
The time course of LIFU effects on cognitive control will be evaluated using repeated mean reaction time measurements obtained during the Multi-Source Interference Task (MSIT). Reaction time will be measured in milliseconds and summarized for each assessment block. Mean reaction time will be compared across the repeated assessments to evaluate changes in cognitive control performance over time. Lower values indicate faster task performance.
Time frame: During repeated MSIT assessments across LIFU sonication sessions and through post-treatment follow-up within 2 weeks
Change in MSIT Mean Reaction Time From Baseline Following LIFU at Different Internal Capsule Sites
Differential response to LIFU across internal capsule stimulation sites will be assessed using mean reaction time during the Multi-Source Interference Task (MSIT), measured in milliseconds. Mean reaction time will be calculated separately for the MSIT block corresponding to each sonication site. Change will be calculated as the mean reaction time following sonication at each site minus the baseline mean reaction time. Negative change values indicate faster responses relative to baseline. Changes will be compared across sonication sites.
Time frame: Baseline and during MSIT task blocks corresponding to each internal capsule LIFU sonication site
Change in Momentary Active Suicidal Ideation Rating Measured by Ecological Momentary Assessment
Momentary active suicidal ideation will be assessed using a study-adapted ecological momentary assessment (EMA) item delivered through participants' smartphones. Responses are rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 to 5.
Time frame: Twice daily for 3 days before and 3 days after LIFU
Change in Momentary Passive Suicidal Ideation Rating Measured by Ecological Momentary Assessment
Momentary passive suicidal ideation will be assessed using a study-adapted ecological momentary assessment (EMA) item delivered through participants' smartphones. Responses are rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 to 5.
Time frame: Twice daily for 3 days before and 3 days after LIFU
Change in Momentary Depression Rating Measured by Ecological Momentary Assessment
Momentary depressive symptoms will be assessed using a study-adapted ecological momentary assessment (EMA) item delivered through participants' smartphones. Responses are rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 to 5.
Time frame: Twice daily for 3 days before and 3 days after LIFU
Change in Momentary Rumination Rating Measured by Ecological Momentary Assessment
Momentary rumination will be assessed using a study-adapted ecological momentary assessment (EMA) item delivered through participants' smartphones. Responses are rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 to 5.
Time frame: Twice daily for 3 days before and 3 days after LIFU
Change in Momentary Physical Pain Rating Measured by Ecological Momentary Assessment
Momentary physical pain will be assessed using a study-adapted ecological momentary assessment (EMA) item delivered through participants' smartphones. Responses are rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 to 5.
Time frame: Twice daily for 3 days before and 3 days after LIFU
Change in Momentary Co-dampening Rating Measured by Ecological Momentary Assessment
Momentary co-dampening will be assessed using a study-adapted ecological momentary assessment (EMA) item delivered through participants' smartphones. Responses are rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 to 5.
Time frame: Twice daily for 3 days before and 3 days after LIFU
Change in Momentary Hallucination Rating Measured by Ecological Momentary Assessment
Momentary experiences of hallucinations will be assessed using a study-adapted ecological momentary assessment (EMA) item delivered through participants' smartphones. Responses are rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 to 5.
Time frame: Twice daily for 3 days before and 3 days after LIFU
Change in Momentary Persecutory Experience Rating Measured by Ecological Momentary Assessment
Momentary persecutory experiences will be assessed using a study-adapted ecological momentary assessment (EMA) item delivered through participants' smartphones. Responses are rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 to 5.
Time frame: Twice daily for 3 days before and 3 days after LIFU
Start is estimated for Jan 2027; primary completion for Sep 2028, 20 months later.
Of 281 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Suicidal Ideation, half reached primary completion within 30 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 13 and three quarters within 54. This study's planned 20 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 290 studies reached it within 29 months; a quarter within 13 and three quarters within 53.
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 ↗
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Nov 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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.