Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)TAPNCT07245641
Targeted Accelerated TMS for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
A study testing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), run by Brigham and Women's Hospital at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly prevalent and debilitating condition among veterans and active-duty military personnel, with rates as high as 30% in certain combat-exposed populations. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 65 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- What is being tested?
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
- Type of treatment
- Surgery or procedure
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 40 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 15 Dec 2025to Jan 2028
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 65 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Age 18-65
- DSM-5 diagnosis of PTSD per PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (CAPS-5)
- At least moderate symptoms of PTSD per PCL-5 (≥21)
- English proficiency sufficient to understand risks/benefits
- No new medications or medication increases before, during, or after aTMS
- Primary clinician (e.g. psychiatrist, therapist, psychologist, APRN, PA, etc.) responsible for psychiatric care before, during, and after the trial
Show all 10Show fewer
- Agreement to lifestyle considerations:
- Abstain from becoming pregnant from screening to one-month after treatment (the MRI visit)
- Continue usual intake patterns of caffeine- or xanthine-containing products (e.g. coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate) throughout treatment
- No changes to routine intake of alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drugs if patients are using them at baseline for at least 24 hours before the start of each MRI and TMS session
Who cannot join
None listed.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, 02115
About this study
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly prevalent and debilitating condition among veterans and active-duty military personnel, with rates as high as 30% in certain combat-exposed populations. Conventional treatments such as prolonged exposure therapy and pharmacotherapy have limited efficacy and high dropout rates, highlighting the need for novel, rapidly effective interventions.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been well established for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Traditional TMS, which involves 6 to 7 weeks of daily, weekday scalp-targeted treatment, shows open-label response and remission rates of 58.1% and 30%, respectively. However, such protocols may be impractical for military personnel with limited medical leave. A new form of accelerated TMS (aTMS) that involves 10 imaging-guided treatments per day for 5 consecutive days has demonstrated substantial antidepressant benefits within days and response rates of 69% at 1-month follow-up. This protocol has not been tested for PTSD, in part because there was no causally informed brain circuit target. In this study, the investigators will test aTMS for PTSD using a novel PTSD circuit that the investigators have derived.
Read the detailed description
In a recent study in Nature Neuroscience, the investigators analyzed three independent datasets to derive a brain circuit causally linked to PTSD in military veterans. Investigators found that brain lesions that reduce the probability of developing PTSD (n=193) were connected to the same brain circuit based on the functional connectivity profiles of individual patients with PTSD using fMRI (n=180). Finally, investigators demonstrated that scalp-targeted TMS to our circuit rapidly improved PTSD symptoms (n=20).
Separately, the investigators partnered with a private clinic to administer open-label, circuit-targeted aTMS to patients with PTSD (n=8). Investigators found that the treatment was safe and tolerable. Response and remission rates were 75% and 63%, respectively. Of note, these response and remission rates assess outcomes up to 4 weeks after the treatment ends. This approach captures individual variability in response trajectory and aligns with our own data from aTMS treatment of TRD.
The strength of these findings has inspired us to launch a pilot randomized controlled aTMS trial in which the investigators prospectively target our PTSD circuit using each patient's neuroimaging data in combination with the accelerated TMS treatment protocol.
- Conditions
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Being tested
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
- Keywords
- Accelerated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, TMS, Neuromodulation
- Medical subject headings
- Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Transcranial Magnetic StimulationProcedure or surgery
Also called TMS, Accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation, aiTBS
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a focal, non-invasive form of brain stimulation that has FDA clearance for depression. In this study, a form of TMS called accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation (aiTBS) will be administered under the supervision of a physician with TMS expertise.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Active aiTBS | Active comparator | Participants in this group will receive active aiTBS with neuronavigation to a treatment target identified with individualized resting state functional connectivity. Receives: Procedure: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation |
| Sham aiTBS | Sham comparator | Participants in this group will receive sham aiTBS with neuronavigation to a treatment target identified with individualized resting state functional connectivity. Participants in the sham group who continue to present with moderate PTSD symptoms (greater than or equal to 33 cutoff on PCL-5) at the post-treatment month 1 visit will be offered the opportunity to opt in and receive another course of active aTMS. Receives: Procedure: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
PTSD Checklist with Criterion A for DSM-5 (PCL-5)
20 item PTSD scale, scored 0-80. Higher scores indicate worse symptoms. Investigators will use a repeated measures mixed model to examine the effect of treatment on PCL-5 scores over time as well as a group x time interaction not controlling for depression.
Hypothesis: There will be a significant difference in PCL-5 score magnitude of change one month after treatment relative to baseline in the participants receiving active treatment vs. sham
Measured: Before treatment to 1-month post treatment
Secondary outcomes (1)
PTSD Checklist with Criterion A for DSM-5 (PCL-5)
20 item PTSD scale, scored 0-80. Higher scores indicate worse symptoms. Investigators will determine between-group effect size based on the change in PCL-5 score one month after treatment.
Hypothesis: Relative to sham aTMS, active aTMS will show a moderate-to-large effect size.
Measured: Before treatment to 1-month post treatment
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted24 Nov 2025
- Study start15 Dec 2025
- Primary completionNov 2027 (estimated)
- Study completionJan 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (6)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)Studies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Brigham and Women's HospitalThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- Parallel-group double-blind randomized controlled trial
- Masking
- Quadruple blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 40 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Mass General Home Base Program
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Joseph J. Taylor, MD, PhD, Brigham and Women's Hospital
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07245641
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2025P002359
- Acronym
- TAP
- Status last verified
- Jan 2026
- First submitted
- 14 Nov 2025
- Last updated
- 13 Aug 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- Yes
- Individual data sharing
- Undecided
Publications
Carpenter LL, Janicak PG, Aaronson ST, Boyadjis T, Brock DG, Cook IA, Dunner DL, Lanocha K, Solvason HB, Demitrack MA. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for major depression: a multisite, naturalistic, observational study of acute treatment outcomes in clinical practice. Depress Anxiety. 2012 Jul;29(7):587-96. doi: 10.1002/da.21969. Epub 2012 Jun 11.
PubMed 22689344Hoge CW, Castro CA, Messer SC, McGurk D, Cotting DI, Koffman RL. Combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, mental health problems, and barriers to care. N Engl J Med. 2004 Jul 1;351(1):13-22. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa040603.
PubMed 15229303Kessler RC, Sonnega A, Bromet E, Hughes M, Nelson CB. Posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1995 Dec;52(12):1048-60. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1995.03950240066012.
PubMed 7492257Siddiqi SH, Philip NS, Palm ST, Carreon DM, Arulpragasam AR, Barredo J, Bouchard H, Ferguson MA, Grafman JH, Morey RA, Fox MD. A potential target for noninvasive neuromodulation of PTSD symptoms derived from focal brain lesions in veterans. Nat Neurosci. 2024 Nov;27(11):2231-2239. doi: 10.1038/s41593-024-01772-7. Epub 2024 Sep 24.
PubMed 39317797Cole EJ, Stimpson KH, Bentzley BS, Gulser M, Cherian K, Tischler C, Nejad R, Pankow H, Choi E, Aaron H, Espil FM, Pannu J, Xiao X, Duvio D, Solvason HB, Hawkins J, Guerra A, Jo B, Raj KS, Phillips AL, Barmak F, Bishop JH, Coetzee JP, DeBattista C, Keller J, Schatzberg AF, Sudheimer KD, Williams NR. Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression. Am J Psychiatry. 2020 Aug 1;177(8):716-726. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19070720. Epub 2020 Apr 7.
PubMed 32252538Cole EJ, Phillips AL, Bentzley BS, Stimpson KH, Nejad R, Barmak F, Veerapal C, Khan N, Cherian K, Felber E, Brown R, Choi E, King S, Pankow H, Bishop JH, Azeez A, Coetzee J, Rapier R, Odenwald N, Carreon D, Hawkins J, Chang M, Keller J, Raj K, DeBattista C, Jo B, Espil FM, Schatzberg AF, Sudheimer KD, Williams NR. Stanford Neuromodulation Therapy (SNT): A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial. Am J Psychiatry. 2022 Feb;179(2):132-141. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2021.20101429. Epub 2021 Oct 29.
PubMed 34711062
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 13 Aug 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Targeted Accelerated TMS for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07245641
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- TAP / 2025P002359
- Conditions
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Keywords
- Accelerated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Post traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, TMS, Neuromodulation
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 40 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Brigham and Women's HospitalUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Mass General Home Base Program
- Study start
- 15 Dec 2025 (actual)
- Primary completion
- Nov 2027 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Jan 2028 (estimated)
- First posted
- 24 Nov 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a highly prevalent and debilitating condition among veterans and active-duty military personnel, with rates as high as 30% in certain combat-exposed populations. Conventional treatments such as prolonged exposure therapy and pharmacotherapy have limited efficacy and high dropout rates, highlighting the need for novel, rapidly effective interventions.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been well established for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Traditional TMS, which involves 6 to 7 weeks of daily, weekday scalp-targeted treatment, shows open-label response and remission rates of 58.1% and 30%, respectively. However, such protocols may be impractical for military personnel with limited medical leave. A new form of accelerated TMS (aTMS) that involves 10 imaging-guided treatments per day for 5 consecutive days has demonstrated substantial antidepressant benefits within days and response rates of 69% at 1-month follow-up. This protocol has not been tested for PTSD, in part because there was no causally informed brain circuit target. In this study, the investigators will test aTMS for PTSD using a novel PTSD circuit that the investigators have derived.
Detailed description
In a recent study in Nature Neuroscience, the investigators analyzed three independent datasets to derive a brain circuit causally linked to PTSD in military veterans. Investigators found that brain lesions that reduce the probability of developing PTSD (n=193) were connected to the same brain circuit based on the functional connectivity profiles of individual patients with PTSD using fMRI (n=180). Finally, investigators demonstrated that scalp-targeted TMS to our circuit rapidly improved PTSD symptoms (n=20).
Separately, the investigators partnered with a private clinic to administer open-label, circuit-targeted aTMS to patients with PTSD (n=8). Investigators found that the treatment was safe and tolerable. Response and remission rates were 75% and 63%, respectively. Of note, these response and remission rates assess outcomes up to 4 weeks after the treatment ends. This approach captures individual variability in response trajectory and aligns with our own data from aTMS treatment of TRD.
The strength of these findings has inspired us to launch a pilot randomized controlled aTMS trial in which the investigators prospectively target our PTSD circuit using each patient's neuroimaging data in combination with the accelerated TMS treatment protocol.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Quadruple blind (participant, care provider, investigator, outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- Parallel-group double-blind randomized controlled trial
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Active aiTBS | Active comparator | Procedure: Transcranial Magnetic StimulationParticipants in this group will receive active aiTBS with neuronavigation to a treatment target identified with individualized resting state functional connectivity. |
| Sham aiTBS | Sham comparator | Procedure: Transcranial Magnetic StimulationParticipants in this group will receive sham aiTBS with neuronavigation to a treatment target identified with individualized resting state functional connectivity. Participants in the sham group who continue to present with moderate PTSD symptoms (greater than or equal to 33 cutoff on PCL-5) at the post-treatment month 1 visit will be offered the opportunity to opt in and receive another course of active aTMS. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (10 listed)
- Age 18-65
- DSM-5 diagnosis of PTSD per PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (CAPS-5)
- At least moderate symptoms of PTSD per PCL-5 (≥21)
- English proficiency sufficient to understand risks/benefits
- No new medications or medication increases before, during, or after aTMS
Key exclusion criteria (0 listed)
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Transcranial Magnetic StimulationAlso: TMS, Accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation, aiTBSTranscranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a focal, non-invasive form of brain stimulation that has FDA clearance for depression. In this study, a form of TMS called accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation (aiTBS) will be administered under the supervision of a physician with TMS expertise. | Procedure or surgery | Active aiTBS, Sham aiTBS |
Primary outcome
PTSD Checklist with Criterion A for DSM-5 (PCL-5)
Time frame: Before treatment to 1-month post treatment
20 item PTSD scale, scored 0-80. Higher scores indicate worse symptoms. Investigators will use a repeated measures mixed model to examine the effect of treatment on PCL-5 scores over time as well as a group x time interaction not controlling for depression. Hypothesis: There will be a significant difference in PCL-5 score magnitude of change one month after treatment relative to baseline in the participants receiving active treatment vs. sham
1 secondary outcome
PTSD Checklist with Criterion A for DSM-5 (PCL-5)
Time frame: Before treatment to 1-month post treatment
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 13 Aug 2026.
- Background: PubMed 22689344Carpenter LL, Janicak PG, Aaronson ST, Boyadjis T, Brock DG, Cook IA, Dunner DL, Lanocha K, Solvason HB, Demitrack MA. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for major depression: a multisite, naturalistic, observational study of acute treatment outcomes in clinical practice. Depress Anxiety. 2012 Jul;29(7):587-96. doi: 10.1002/da.21969. Epub 2012 Jun 11.
- Background: PubMed 15229303Hoge CW, Castro CA, Messer SC, McGurk D, Cotting DI, Koffman RL. Combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, mental health problems, and barriers to care. N Engl J Med. 2004 Jul 1;351(1):13-22. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa040603.
- Background: PubMed 7492257Kessler RC, Sonnega A, Bromet E, Hughes M, Nelson CB. Posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1995 Dec;52(12):1048-60. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1995.03950240066012.
- Background: PubMed 39317797Siddiqi SH, Philip NS, Palm ST, Carreon DM, Arulpragasam AR, Barredo J, Bouchard H, Ferguson MA, Grafman JH, Morey RA, Fox MD. A potential target for noninvasive neuromodulation of PTSD symptoms derived from focal brain lesions in veterans. Nat Neurosci. 2024 Nov;27(11):2231-2239. doi: 10.1038/s41593-024-01772-7. Epub 2024 Sep 24.
- Background: PubMed 32252538Cole EJ, Stimpson KH, Bentzley BS, Gulser M, Cherian K, Tischler C, Nejad R, Pankow H, Choi E, Aaron H, Espil FM, Pannu J, Xiao X, Duvio D, Solvason HB, Hawkins J, Guerra A, Jo B, Raj KS, Phillips AL, Barmak F, Bishop JH, Coetzee JP, DeBattista C, Keller J, Schatzberg AF, Sudheimer KD, Williams NR. Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Depression. Am J Psychiatry. 2020 Aug 1;177(8):716-726. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19070720. Epub 2020 Apr 7.
- Background: PubMed 34711062Cole EJ, Phillips AL, Bentzley BS, Stimpson KH, Nejad R, Barmak F, Veerapal C, Khan N, Cherian K, Felber E, Brown R, Choi E, King S, Pankow H, Bishop JH, Azeez A, Coetzee J, Rapier R, Odenwald N, Carreon D, Hawkins J, Chang M, Keller J, Raj K, DeBattista C, Jo B, Espil FM, Schatzberg AF, Sudheimer KD, Williams NR. Stanford Neuromodulation Therapy (SNT): A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial. Am J Psychiatry. 2022 Feb;179(2):132-141. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2021.20101429. Epub 2021 Oct 29.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Undecided
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), run by Brigham and Women's Hospital at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 10 inclusion and 0 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 13 Aug 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Interventional Psychiatry Research Group (6175253526, bwhtap@mgb.org), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
PTSD Checklist with Criterion A for DSM-5 (PCL-5) (time frame: Before treatment to 1-month post treatment). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT07245641, which also lists 6 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 13 Aug 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 30 Oct 2026.