rTMS for Auditory Hallucinations in Schizophrenia
This study is looking at a treatment called repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) for people with schizophrenia and related disorders who experience auditory hallucinations (hearing things that aren't there). rTMS uses magnetic pulses to stimulate specific areas of the brain. Researchers want to see if using rTMS, targeted to your individual brain activity, can help reduce these hallucinations and improve thinking skills like memory and attention. You would receive either active rTMS or a sham (inactive) rTMS over about 6 weeks. To join, you need to be between 18 and 50 years old, have a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder, and be under the care of a healthcare provider. The study aims to see if this personalized rTMS approach can improve brain connections, which would indicate success. The current recruitment status is unclear.
- Study design
- This is an interventional study with a planned enrollment of 140 participants. Participants will receive either active rTMS or sham rTMS.
- What's involved
- You would have two rTMS sessions per visit for up to 22 visits over approximately 6 weeks, with a 30-minute rest between sessions. Brain scans (fMRI) will be done at the beginning, around week 2, and after about 4 weeks of treatment.
- Compensation
- Not stated in the trial record.
- Follow-up
- Your brain connectivity will be measured after about 4 weeks of acute treatment.
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NCT02916810
Alternative Stimulation Mode and Location for Auditory Hallucination Neuromodulation Treatment
Recruiting
NAAges 18–50InterventionalTreatmentThe University of Texas Health Science Center, HoustonInvestigator-initiated
~140 participants
Updated 2026-08-03 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Active rTMS stimulationSham rTMS stimulation
At a glance
Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Brain connectivity as indicated by resting state functional connectivity value as assessed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
Measured over baseline, intermittent (before or at the beginning of treatment visit 11, about 2 weeks after baseline), end of acute treatment (after treatment visit 20, about 4 weeks after baseline)
Conditions
Where it's being run
1 sites across 1 statesTexas1
Study leadership
- Xiaoming Du, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Who to contact
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Do you actually qualify for this trial?
Add a private profile and we'll compare every criterion below against your situation — and tell you which ones are met, uncertain, or excluding.
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion
Male and female ages between ages 18-50 years
Ability to give written informed consent (age 18 or above)
Diagnosed with schizophrenia-spectrum disorder and Evaluation to Sign Consent (ESC) above 10.
Is currently under the care of a licensed primary care provider or mental healthcare provider (e.g., psychiatrist, psychologist, nurse practitioner, licensed clinical social worker).
Have auditory hallucinations despite treated by two or more antipsychotics including one atypical antipsychotic medication.
Agrees to: (a) provide written permission, as requested, to allow any and all forms of communication between the investigators and study staff and any health care provider who currently provides and/or has provided service to the subject within two years of study enrollment; and (b) provide the names and verifiable contact information (name, email and mailing address, mobile and land-line phone number, as applicable) of at least two reliable persons ≥ age 22, who reside within a 30-minute drive of the subject's residence, and whom the research staff is at liberty to contact, as deemed necessary, for the duration of study participation.
Exclusion
Persons with a first-degree relative with inherited epilepsy, seizure disorder, or seizures or persons who answer "yes" to any of the parts (A. - G.) of Question 3 of an epilepsy screening questionnaire.
Taking \> 400 mg clozapine/day and not on anti-seizure medication(s) with sufficient dose.
Failed TMS screening questionnaire.
Significant alcohol or other drug use (substance abuse within 1 month or substance dependence history within 6 months and having substance usage within 1 month) other than nicotine or marijuana dependence
Any major medical illnesses that may affect normal brain functioning. Examples of these conditions include, but not limited to, stroke, CNS infection or tumor, other significant brain neurological conditions.
Cardiac pacemakers, implanted medication pumps, intracardiac lines, or acute, unstable cardiac disease, with intracranial implants (e.g. aneurysm clips, shunts, stimulators, cochlear implants, or electrodes) or any other metal object within or near the head, excluding the mouth, that cannot be safely removed.
History of head injury with loss of consciousness over 10 minutes; history of brain surgery
Cannot refrain from using alcohol and/or marijuana 24 hours or more prior to experiments.
Woman who is pregnant (child-bearing potential but not on contraceptive and missing menstrual period; or by self-report; or by positive pregnancy test) or has had unprotected sexual intercourse without birth control in the last 4 weeks.
Moderate-High Risk of suicide according to the Columbia - Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) Screen Version - Recent (i.e. answers YES to Question 3 and NO to Question 6 (Moderate risk); or answers YES to Questions 4, 5, or 6 (High risk) or in the clinical judgement of the investigator or the study psychiatrist.
In the medical opinion of the investigator, subjects with the following circumstances or conditions which can increase the risk of seizures may be excluded: sleep deprivation; major depressive disorder comorbid with dementia, underweight status; concurrent use of cephalosporins and antiarrhythmics (particularly propranolol); metabolic abnormalities (hyponatremia, hypocalcemia, hypomagnesemia, hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, renal failure/uremia, liver failure); raised blood concentrations of proconvulsant medications due to reduced clearance (e.g. secondary to initiation of antibiotics for treatment of infections); alcohol withdrawal; use of stimulants, such as cocaine or MDMA; use of immunosuppressive therapy with cyclosporine, tacrolimus and other agents that can cause the posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy syndrome; dialysis; systemic infection, and fever itself.
History (or family history) of deep vein thrombosis.
What this trial measures
- Brain connectivity as indicated by resting state functional connectivity value as assessed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)baseline, intermittent (before or at the beginning of treatment visit 11, about 2 weeks after baseline), end of acute treatment (after treatment visit 20, about 4 weeks after baseline)
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is used to evaluate the brain activities that are corresponding to the treatment effect on auditory hallucination.