EEG Synchronized TMS Trial for Depression
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT03421808. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.
Official title
Randomized Controlled Trial of EEG/fMRI Controlled TMS For Treating Depression
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
Daily prefrontal TMS for depression, as developed by the PI, involves delivering TMS pulses to the prefrontal cortex and not assessing what the actual EEG phase is of the person's brain. In cardiology, in order to stimulate the heart effectively, one has to know the rhythm and phase of the heartbeat in order to perform cardioversion. The investigators wonder if it is important to time the brain stimulation with the phase of the person's brain. The brain has definite rhythms, and cycles through being excited or resting. A common EEG rhythm is alpha frequency. Theoretically, the effect of the TMS pulse might be diminished if it was delivered when the brain was temporarily cycling into an off state. In the r21 part of this grant, the investigators designed and constructed a combined TMS/EEG/fMRI system. With that equipment the investigators found that TMS pulses have different effects deeper in the brain as a function of the EEG alpha phase. Pulses delivered during a rising phase produce larger blood flow changes deeper in the brain than do pulses delivered during a falling phase. In the R33 phase of the grant the investigators now take that idea into a small clinical trial in depression to test if synchronized pulses have a larger clinical effect than do non-synchronized pulses.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT03421808
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 2, Phase 3
- Enrollment
- 34 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 21 Years to 70 Years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Healthy volunteers not accepted
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- Nov 29, 2018
- Primary completion
- Dec 31, 2021
- Completion
- Jan 14, 2024
- Last update posted
- Nov 3, 2025
2018 – 2024
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical University of South Carolina Brain Stimulation Division | Charleston | South Carolina | 29425 | — |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT03421808, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Nov 3, 2025 · Synced Sep 5, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT03421808 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.