Recruiting

TMS

Sponsor:

New York State Psychiatric Institute

Code:

NCT05918835

Conditions

Anorexia Nervosa

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: Female

Age: 18 - 35

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

High-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (active rTMS)

Sham repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (sham rTMS)

Study Details

Brief summary:

This study will examine the impact of high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation on food choice behavior and related neural activity.

Conditions

Anorexia Nervosa

Study ID

NCT05918835

Start date

Apr 24, 2023

Status verified date

Jul, 2026

Completion date

Jun 30, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jun 30, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: Female

Age: 18 - 35

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • DSM-5 Diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa
  • Age 18-35 years
  • Female
  • Right-handed
  • Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 16.0
  • Voluntarily admitted to inpatient eating disorders unit at NYSPI
  • Competent to provide informed consent
  • English-speaking
  • Medically stable

Exclusion Criteria:

  • High risk of suicide
  • Current substance use disorder or other co- morbid psychiatric condition requiring specialized treatment (e.g., psychosis)
  • Diagnosis of major medical or neurological problem or taking medication that significantly increases risk for seizure or affects interpretation of findings (e.g., unstable hypertension, seizure disorder)
  • Food restrictions (e.g., allergies) which impact greater than 30% of food choice task's choice options
  • Indwelling ferromagnetic metallic object (e.g., pacemaker, pump), non- removable metal jewelry, medicinal patch or recent metallic ink tattoo
  • History of seizure
  • Diagnosis of epilepsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, meningoencephalitis or intracerebral abscess, or parenchymal or leptomeningeal cancers
  • Prior exposure to TMS
  • Pregnancy
  • Currently breast-feeding
  • Significant claustrophobia
  • Implanted devices or stimulators
  • Hearing loss (e.g., currently undergoing treatment with ototoxic medications or those with cochlear implants)

Study Design

Enrollment

72 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: High-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF-rTMS)

Target: Region of right DLPFC with greatest resting-state functional connectivity to dorsal striatum (individualized functional target) Protocol: 10 pulses/sec, 4s trains, 120% MT, 3000 pulses/session

sham comparator: Sham repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (sham rTMS)

Target: Region of right DLPFC with greatest resting-state functional connectivity to dorsal striatum (individualized functional target) Protocol: same as HF-rTMS, with sham coil

Interventions

High-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (active rTMS)

HF-rTMS is applied with a figure-of-8 coil using the Magstim TMS System. Participants receive one administration of HF-rTMS, delivered to the region of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) with greatest resting-state functional connectivity to the dorsal striatum (individualized per participant). HF-rTMS is delivered at a frequency of 10 Hz for approximately 37 minutes (3000 total pulses).

Sham repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (sham rTMS)

Sham rTMS is applied with a figure-of-8 sham coil using the Magstim TMS System, which is identical to the active coil, replicates the sounds of HF-rTMS, and is designed to mimic sensations of HF-rTMS. Participants receive one administration of sham rTMS, delivered to the region of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) with greatest resting-state functional connectivity to the dorsal striatum (individualized per participant). Sham rTMS is delivered for approximately 37 minutes (3000 total pulses).

Primary outcome measure

  • Neural activity and functional connectivity during the food choice task [ Time Frame: Baseline to post-treatment (approx. 1 week apart) ]
  • Restrictive eating behavior during the food choice task [ Time Frame: Baseline to post-treatment (approx. 1 week apart) ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Alexandra F Muratore, PhD

646-774-8053afm2166@cumc.columbia.edu

Locations

New York State Psychiatric Institute

Recruiting

New York, New York, United States, 10032

Contacts

Alexandra F Muratore, PhD

646-774-8053afm2166@cumc.columbia.edu

More Information

Sponsor

New York State Psychiatric Institute

Last update posted

Jul 15, 2026

Last verified

Jul, 2026

Keywords

  • Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
  • Anorexia Nervosa
  • Restrictive Eating
  • Feeding and Eating Disorders

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by New York State Psychiatric Institute on 2026-07-15.