Actively Recruiting
Cortical Stimulation to Treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Led by Andrew Moses Lee, MD, PhD · Updated on 2026-05-01
15
Participants Needed
1
Research Sites
260 weeks
Total Duration
On this page
AI-Summary
What this Trial Is About
The purpose of this study is to identify abnormal brain signals associated with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and psychiatric symptoms and to investigate novel therapeutic stimulation sites. While treating OCD with standard deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy, the investigators will also monitor the activity of the anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortex, a region known be involved with OCD, decision making, and emotion regulation, and the investigators will identify abnormal activity corresponding to the severity of a patient's OCD. The investigators will also investigate whether it is possible for stimulation delivered to these parts of the brain can improve OCD symptoms. These investigations have the potential to aid in the development of improved forms of DBS that can better target abnormal OCD brain signatures in the future. The investigators will implant a cortical electrode in addition to the ALIC DBS electrode and connect these to an implantable pulse generator that care store field potential data (Medtronic Percept). The decision whether the lead is placed in the prefrontal or cingulate cortex bilaterally will be based upon considerations of the surgical risks for a particular patient based upon their anatomy and the required surgical approach. At multiple time points post-implantation up to 2 years, in our clinic or patient's homes, cortical and subcortical signals will be recorded. Data will be collected while patient are resting or engaged in symptom provocation tasks, emotional/cognitive tasks while cortical stimulation is on and off. In addition to brain signal recordings, symptoms will be assessed using validated questionnaires and tasks to allow identification of neurophysiological correlates of OCD symptoms.
CONDITIONS
Official Title
Cortical Stimulation to Treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Who Can Participate
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if you...
- Ability to give informed consent for the study
- Age between 22 and 75 years
- Clinical diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- OCD duration of at least 5 years
- Severe or extreme OCD illness with Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) score of 28 or higher
- Failed to improve after treatment with at least two selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), clomipramine, and antipsychotic augmentation
- Inadequate response to cognitive behavior therapy (exposure and response prevention)
- Inadequate response to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for OCD if reasonably available
You will not qualify if you...
- Primary hoarding subtype of OCD according to DSM-4
- Presence of another severe psychiatric disorder such as personality disorder, psychotic or bipolar disorder, or substance abuse
- Pregnancy
- Abnormal MRI or neurological condition requiring future MRI
- Cognitive disorder or dementia
- Imminent suicide risk or history of suicide attempt
- Inability to comply with study follow-up visits
- Major comorbidities increasing surgery risk, including prior stroke, severe hypertension, severe diabetes, or need for chronic anticoagulation other than aspirin
- Allergies or hypersensitivity to materials in the Activa system (titanium, polyurethane, silicone, polyethermide, stainless steel)
- Previous cranial ablative or deep brain stimulation surgery
- Any condition judged by the principal investigator to significantly increase risk or reduce benefit from DBS
AI-Screening
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Trial Site Locations
Total: 1 location
1
UCSF Nancy Friend Pritzker Psychiatry Building
San Francisco, California, United States, 94107
Actively Recruiting
Research Team
A
Andrew M Lee, MD, PhD
CONTACT
T
Tenzin Norbu, BS
CONTACT
How is the study designed?
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Masking
NONE
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Model
PARALLEL
Primary Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Number of Arms
2
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