NCT04068857

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) Self-Referential Processing (rTMS-SRP)

Effects of Precuneus Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) on Self-Referential Processing and Default Mode Network Functional Connectivity in Early Phase Psychosis

• Status: Withdrawn
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 0 (actual)
• Sponsor: Indiana University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 45 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This will be a single site pilot study. 16 subjects with early phase psychosis (EPP), defined as medical record documentation of the onset of clinically significant psychotic symptoms within the past ten years, will be randomized 1:1 to double-blind treatment with 5 sessions of rTMS or sham stimulation directed at the bilateral precuneus over the course of 1 week. Subjects will undergo functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) procedures, behavioral and cognitive assessments, and self-referential memory paradigm (SRMP) at baseline and immediately following the final rTMS or sham session. Contact with subjects will be conducted at two weeks after the end of study intervention for adverse event assessments. In the event new adverse events felt to be related to the study intervention have occurred following the termination of study procedures, subjects will be brought in for further safety assessments.

Detailed description

A number of studies have investigated the therapeutic potential of rTMS in schizophrenia, noting improvements in treatment refractory auditory hallucinations as well as negative symptoms and cognitive dysfunction. However, no previous studies have examined the effects of precuneus directed rTMS on SRP deficits in schizophrenia. It is also important to note that the vast majority of studies using rTMS in schizophrenia have examined chronic populations where confounds associated with prolonged duration of illness may be present. Early phase psychosis (EPP) is a desirable population to study because these patients tend to have fewer psychiatric and physical comorbidities and less antipsychotic drug exposure, all of which are factors that may confound investigations of new treatment interventions for this illness. In light of the significant unmet medical need associated with schizophrenia and the grave clinical effect of disrupted SRP in the illness, rTMS modulating precuneus, and potentially DMN circuitry, represents an unexplored and potentially novel potential treatment option. This study proposes to examine the application of rTMS targeting the precuneus for the treatment of disrupted SRP in EPP. This is an important population for study because if effective, rTMS may represent a preventative treatment for the development of poor outcomes and functioning associated with SRP deficits in in schizophrenia. This study will also seek to refine the understanding of the brain circuitry that mediates the potential pro-SRP effects of rTMS through the use of fMRI at baseline and following the course of rTMS administration.

Conditions

• Schizophrenia
• Schizo Affective Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	rTMS	Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive neuromodulation technique that received FDA clearance for use in treatment resistant major depressive disorder in 2008 and has become commonly used in clinical practice. rTMS utilizes the application of a repetitively pulsed magnetic field over the scalp to induce an electric field within a discrete area of the cerebral cortex. This electric field results in altered ion flow across the neuronal cellular membrane and ultimately changes in neuronal polarization. rTMS enables investigators to manipulate brain activity in a targeted cortical region as well as downstream connectivity within an associated neuronal circuit. High frequency (HF) rTMS leads to facilitatory effects on brain excitability. Previous studies have demonstrated that administration of as little as a single train or a small number of trains are able to produce an immediate increase in cortical excitability.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-09-01
• Primary completion: 2020-12-01
• Completion: 2020-12-01
• First posted: 2019-08-28
• Last updated: 2019-11-21

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated device study