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Effect of cTBS on Startle and TMS-evoked BOLD
Sponsor: University of Pennsylvania
Summary
The right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is increasingly being targeted with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to reduce anxiety expression; however, there is little mechanistic evidence supporting an optimized treatment protocol. Thus, the objective of the current project is to develop an interleaved TMS/fMRI that can assess the effect of neuromodulatory (potentially therapeutic) TMS protocols on neural and behavioral measures related to anxiety expression. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: These results will yield direct evidence that 1 Hz and cTBS modulate brain activity associated with anxiety expression and regulation, thus informing novel TMS based anxiety treatments.
Official title: The Effect of Right dlPFC cTBS on Acute Measures of Anxiety, Functional Connectivity, and TMS-evoked BOLD Responses.
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - 50 Years
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
140
Start Date
2026-07-01
Completion Date
2031-06-30
Last Updated
2026-02-17
Healthy Volunteers
Yes
Conditions
Interventions
Active TMS
Subjects will receive a continuous 1800 pulse cTBS train to the right dlPFC at 100% of motor threshold. The train will consist of 50 Hz bursts, repeated at intervals of 200 ms (5 Hz) for 40 sec.
Sham TMS
Subjects will receive a series of 100 single pulses to the right dlPFC at 100% of motor threshold. Pulses will be randomly jittered and have an average interpulse interval of 6 ± 4 seconds. Single pulses delivered in such a fashion have been shown to have little or no neuromodulatory effect on subsequent cortical excitability.
Locations (1)
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States