Actively Recruiting
Developing Transcranial Neuromodulation Protocols for Learning and Decision-Making
Led by National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) · Updated on 2026-05-14
600
Participants Needed
1
Research Sites
963 weeks
Total Duration
On this page
AI-Summary
What this Trial Is About
Background: People with substance use disorder (SUD) often have changes in brain function that can make it difficult to control drug-seeking behavior. These changes may heighten the urge to use drugs or lessen the desire to seek nondrug-related rewards. Researchers want to know how a technique called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) may cause changes in brain activity that may help people with SUD. Objective: To test TMS in healthy volunteers. Eligibility: Healthy people aged 18 to 45 years who are right-handed. Design: Participants can volunteer for up to 5 different experiments. Each experiment requires 2 to 8 clinic visits. Each visit will last 3 to 7 hours. Some visits will include TMS. A coil will be placed on the participant s head. A brief electrical current will pass through the coil to create a magnetic field. Participants may feel a tapping or pulling sensation on the skin under the coil. They may feel a twitch in their face, neck, arm, or leg muscles. Participants may be asked to tense certain muscles during TMS. Some visits will include functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans. Participants will lie on a bed that slides into a large tube. They will perform tasks on a computer inside the tube. The fMRI will show which parts of the brain are used during each task. Participants will perform tasks on a computer. Some tasks may be done at a desk as well as during TMS and fMRI. Participants may look at images, listen to sounds, smell odors, or taste flavored liquids. Their vital signs may be monitored and their eye movements may be tracked during tasks.
CONDITIONS
Official Title
Developing Transcranial Neuromodulation Protocols for Learning and Decision-Making
Who Can Participate
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if you...
- Aged 18-45 years
- In good general health based on medical assessment
- Right-handed
You will not qualify if you...
- Neurological disorders that increase seizure risk such as stroke, brain lesions, epilepsy, history of seizures or fainting episodes of unknown cause, severe headaches, or significant head trauma
- Predisposition to seizures including family history of epilepsy
- Use of investigational drugs or medications with psychotropic, anti- or pro-convulsive effects within the past two weeks or daily use for more than one week in the past three months
- Inability to undergo MRI or TMS due to metallic implants, claustrophobia, or other reasons
- History of noise-induced hearing loss or tinnitus
- Recent history (past 12 months) of learning disabilities or major psychiatric disorders including ADHD, OCD, schizophrenia, PTSD, or major affective disorders
- Harmful alcohol or drug use patterns in the past 12 months
- Daily nicotine, alcohol, or drug use (excluding caffeine) for at least 4 continuous weeks within the past 12 months
- Participation in any neuromodulation session (other than this protocol) in the past two weeks
- History of anaphylaxis related to asthma, food, or non-food allergies if tasks involve taste or smell
- Severe uncorrected visual impairments affecting task participation
- Non-English speaking
- Pregnancy
- Any other condition that investigators judge incompatible with participation
AI-Screening
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Trial Site Locations
Total: 1 location
1
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21224
Actively Recruiting
Research Team
N
NIDA IRP Screening Team
CONTACT
T
Thorsten Kahnt, Ph.D.
CONTACT
How is the study designed?
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Masking
SINGLE
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Model
PARALLEL
Primary Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Number of Arms
5
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