Recruiting

rTMS

Sponsor:

Massachusetts General Hospital

Code:

NCT06956300

Conditions

Prodromal Alzheimer's Disease

Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease

Healthy Aging

Cognitive Decline

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 40 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Active rTMS

Sham rTMS

Study Details

Brief summary:

In this research study we want to learn more about the effects of non-invasive brain stimulation on motivation, memory, and brain-network function in cognitively unimpaired older adults and individuals with preclinical Alzheimer's disease.

This study will use a form of non-invasive brain stimulation called repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS). rTMS will slightly alter activity in an area of your brain that controls cognition. Changes resulting from this stimulation will be measured with behavioral tests, as well as by taking brain images with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

Participants will come in for one baseline visit followed by 10 days of daily rTMS study visits (Monday through Friday) and an evaluation visit. Then, there will be a 2-week break. After this break, they will return for another baseline visit, an additional 10 days of rTMS, and a final evaluation visit.

Conditions

Prodromal Alzheimer's Disease

Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease

Healthy Aging

Cognitive Decline

Study ID

NCT06956300

Start date

Apr 7, 2025

Status verified date

Feb, 2026

Completion date

Aug 31, 2029

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Aug 31, 2029

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 40 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Between the ages of 40-99
2. Native English speakers
3. Willing and able to consent to the protocol and undergo imaging and neuropsychological testing at the specified time points
4. Cognitively normal older adults and individuals with preclinical Alzheimer's disease will be included.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. History of head trauma involving loss of consciousness or alteration in consciousness
2. Another major neurologic or psychiatric condition
3. Known presence of a structural brain lesion (e.g. tumor, cortical infarct)
4. Any contraindication to MRI, such as presence of pacemakers, aneurysm clips, artificial heart valves, ear implants, metal fragments, or foreign objects in the eyes, skin, or body
5. Longstanding premorbid history (i.e. longer than 10 years) of alcohol or substance abuse with continuous abuse up to and including the time that the symptoms leading to clinical presentation developed
6. Any significant systemic illness or unstable medical condition which could lead to difficulty complying with the study protocol.
7. Unwilling to return for follow-up, undergo neuropsychological testing, TMS, and MR imaging
8. History of unprovoked seizures (i.e., seizures that occur in the absence of a clear provocation such as hyponatremia, hypoglycemia, etc.).
9. Subjects who have a first degree relative (e.g., father, mother or sibling) with a seizure disorder.
10. Subjects currently taking, or plan to take, medications which are highly epileptogenic. These include: clozapine, high doses of bupropion (i.e., greater than 400mg daily), diphenhydramine, cyclosporine, isoniazid, imipenem, chloroquine, tramadol and theophylline.

Study Design

Enrollment

80 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Other

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Active TMS

All participants will receive the same study interventions in a within-subject crossover design.

sham comparator: Sham TMS

All participants will receive the same study interventions in a within-subject crossover design.

Interventions

Active rTMS

All study participants will receive one block of ACTIVE rTMS. Each block will consist of daily sessions of active rTMS delivered to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex over ten days (Monday through Friday).

Sham rTMS

All study participants will receive one block of SHAM rTMS. Each block will consist of daily sessions of SHAM rTMS delivered to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex over ten days (Monday through Friday).

Primary outcome measure

  • Changes in motivation [ Time Frame: Baseline and post-treatment Day 11 ]
  • Changes in Brain Network Connectivity [ Time Frame: Baseline and post-treatment Day 11 ]
  • Changes in Memory [ Time Frame: Baseline and Post-Treatment Day 11 ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Locations

Massachusetts General Hospital

Recruiting

Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02129

Contacts

Alexandra Touroutoglou, MSc, PhD

617-643-6348atouroutoglou@mgh.harvard.edu

Principal Investigator:

Alexandra Touroutoglou, MSc, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

Massachusetts General Hospital

Last update posted

Feb 20, 2026

Last verified

Feb, 2026

Keywords

  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Massachusetts General Hospital on 2026-02-20.