Recruiting

rTMS

Sponsor:

West Virginia University

Code:

NCT06237868

Conditions

Impulse Control Disorder

Parkinson Disease

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

rTMS Active

rTMS Sham

Study Details

Brief summary:

This study's objective is to evaluate the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) of patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) who experience impulse control disorders (ICDs) on impulse control symptoms and cognitive behaviors linked to ICDs: reinforcement learning and delay-discounting. This is a randomized sham-controlled cross-over trial. All patients will undergo a session of active rTMS and a session of sham rTMS, with the order of sessions randomized across participants. Following recruitment and eligibility screening, the eligible participants will undergo two sessions of rTMS (active and sham), immediately followed by neurocognitive tasks and questionnaires, no more than 1-2 weeks apart. Each session will have a duration of approximately 1-1.5 hours.

Conditions

Impulse Control Disorder

Parkinson Disease

Study ID

NCT06237868

Start date

May 1, 2024

Status verified date

Apr, 2026

Completion date

May, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

May, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Clinician-confirmed diagnosis of PD
  • Ability to provide informed consent, written and verbal
  • Clinician-diagnosed impulse control disorder or impulse control behaviors including punding/hobbyism and dopamine dysregulation syndrome
  • A Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) (Beck et al., 1961) score of 14 or lower
  • A Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) (Nasreddine et al., 2005) score of 20 or higher
  • On dopamine-replacement therapy

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of seizures or epilepsy
  • History of brain lesions (such as multiple sclerosis, tumor) reported
  • History of vascular issues in the brain, such as stroke
  • History of a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury
  • Meeting the criteria for a major psychiatric illness such as schizophrenia or depression (BDI score of 14 or higher).
  • Having significant cognitive impairment (assessed by MoCA, cutoff score of 20) (Nasreddine, et al., 2005)
  • Having had TMS done in the recent past (within a year)
  • Pregnancy assessed in female patients
  • Intracranial metallic objects (except for dental fillings)
  • Current use of substances or medications known to significantly reduce seizure threshold.

Study Design

Enrollment

20 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

active comparator: rTMS Active

the participant will receive a type of TMS called repetitive TMS (rTMS) wherein the magnetic pulses delivered will be close together in a rapid sequence over the dlPFC. Participants receive excitatory rTMS with a stimulation frequency of 20 Hz between 100-120% of their resting motor threshold.

sham comparator: rTMS Sham

Sham rTMS will be the same as real rTMS, except a special sham coil will be used, which produces the same sensation on the scalp of the patients as the real coil but delivers no magnetic stimulation to the brain.

Interventions

rTMS Active

The participants undergo Active rTMS, approximately 10-15 min and then complete tasks and questionnaires.

rTMS Sham

The participants undergo Sham rTMS, approximately 10-15 min and then complete tasks and questionnaires.

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in Delay-Discounting [ Time Frame: Baseline to 1 hour following the intervention ]
  • Change in Reinforcement Learning [ Time Frame: Baseline to 1 hour following the intervention ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Mariya V Cherkasova, PhD

2403673068mariya.cherkasova@mail.wvu.edu

Locations

West Virginia University Hospitals

Recruiting

Morgantown, West Virginia, United States, 26505

Contacts

Mariya V Cherkasova, PhD

2403673068mariya.cherkasova@mail.wvu.edu

More Information

Sponsor

West Virginia University

Last update posted

Apr 20, 2026

Last verified

Apr, 2026

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by West Virginia University on 2026-04-20.