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Transcranial Interference Stimulation for Social Cognition in Healthy Adults

This study is testing a new brain stimulation method called transcranial interference stimulation (tIS) in healthy adults. Researchers want to see if tIS is safe and well-tolerated, and if it can affect a specific brain area called the pulvinar nucleus (PuN), which is involved in social thinking. This is the first time tIS is being used in humans in the US. The long-term goal is to see if tIS could eventually help people with severe mental health conditions like schizophrenia. You might be able to join if you are between 18 and 55 years old, have an IQ over 70, and haven't taken certain psychiatric medications recently. The study will involve 10 healthy participants for each of three different tIS doses.

Study design
This is an interventional study testing a new device in healthy volunteers. It will involve 10 participants per dose, with a total of 10-30 individuals across different doses.
What's involved
You would undergo an MRI scan to locate a specific brain area. You would also have tIS or sham tIS (a placebo version) and have your brain activity measured with fMRI and EEG at different times.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Brain activation levels and visual responses will be measured at baseline, and then twice during each phase (day 8 and day 15) following active and sham stimulation.

AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.

NCT06607432

Temporal Interference Stimulation for Social Cognition

Recruiting
NAAges 18–55InterventionalDevice feasibility
Columbia University
~10 participants
Updated 2026-04-23 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Transcranial Interference Stimulation (tIS)Sham tIS

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Pulvinar nucleus (PuN) activation levels
Measured over Once at baseline (day 1) and twice during each phase (day 8, day 15): 1x following active stimulation, 1x following sham stimulation in randomized order across participants
+1 more outcome measured

Conditions

Healthy Controls

Explore related trials

Healthy

Where it's being run

1 sites across 1 states
New York1

Study leadership

  • Daniel C Javitt, M.D., Ph.D. · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Columbia University

Who to contact

Daniel C Javitt, M.D., Ph.D.
[email protected]
1 6467745404
Email the study team

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Do you actually qualify for this trial?

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

Male or female
Age 18-55 years
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) intelligence quotient (IQ) \>70
Competent and willing to sign informed consent.
Shall not have been prescribed any standing medications for treatment of a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) Axis I psychiatric disorders within 90 days of the study and shall not have been prescribed standing opioid analgesic, anticonvulsant, antidementia, antidepressant, antimigraine, antipsychotic, anxiolytic, bipolar agents, central nervous system agents, or sedative/hypnotics within 90 days of the study even if for a non-psychiatric indication. Intermittent use of sedative/hypnotic medications is permitted, but these agents shall not be used within 48 hours of the tIS administration.
Healthy relative to age-dependent expectation as determined by medical history and physical examination within 90 days of enrollment.

Exclusion

Has a history of an illness, disease, condition injury, or disability which, in the opinion of the principal investigator (PI), may interfere with the completion of all study requirements per protocol, impact the quality of the data, or the validity of the study results.
Contraindication to MRI (e.g. metal implants, claustrophobia, pregnancy)
On the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) Screen Version-Recent, answers YES to Question 3 and NO to Question 6 (Moderate Risk) or answers YES to Question 4, 5, or 6 (High Risk).
Presence or positive history of significant medical illnesses, including high blood pressure(defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) \>140 or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) \>90, low blood pressure (SBP \<100, DBP \<60), orthostatic blood pressure as baseline (change in mean arterial pressure \[1/3 systolic + 2/3 diastolic\] of \>20%), cardiac illness, or clinical significant abnormal electrocardiogram (EKG), as determined by the site physician
Women of childbearing potential who, at enrollment or during the study:
have a positive urine pregnancy test or a self-reported pregnancy;
are heterosexually active without usage of a medically acceptable, highly effective contraceptive method\* ( 1% pregnancy rate); or
are planning to become pregnant during the course of this study, as determined by the PI, are excluded from study participation. Examples include tubal ligation, vasectomized partner, intrauterine device (IUD) or intrauterine system (IUS), and longacting reversible contraceptives (LARC).

What this trial measures

  • Pulvinar nucleus (PuN) activation levelsOnce at baseline (day 1) and twice during each phase (day 8, day 15): 1x following active stimulation, 1x following sham stimulation in randomized order across participants

    Pulvinar nucleus (PuN) activation levels as determined by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, safety) These analyses assess the degree to which presentation of a stimulus designed to activate the pulvinar nucleus leads to an increase in local activation as reflected in the fMRI response. Units will be % increase in signal strength during stimulation vs. baseline.

  • Amplitude of 10-Hz visual Steady-State Response (ssVEP)Twice during each phase (day 8, day 15): 1x during active stimulation, 1x during sham stimulation in randomized order across participants

    (Target engagement) This measure is obtained simultaneously with tIS and reflects the response of visual cortex to repetitive stimulation. Response is measured in microvolt-squared (uV2).