NCT06956300 · RECRUITING
TMS for Cognitive Decline in Aging and Preclinical AD
This trial is testing whether repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation — a non-invasive device that uses magnetic pulses to gently stimulate targeted brain areas — can improve motivation, memory, and brain-network function in cognitively normal older adults and people with preclinical Alzheimer's disease. Participants receive 20 sessions of either real or sham stimulation over several weeks, with MRI scans measuring what changes. This is a Phase NA designation, meaning it is a device feasibility and effects study, not a drug trial.
You may qualify if
- Between the ages of 40-99
- Native English speakers
- Willing and able to consent to the protocol and undergo imaging and neuropsychological testing at the specified time points
- Cognitively normal older adults and individuals with preclinical Alzheimer's disease will be included.
You're excluded if
- History of head trauma involving loss of consciousness or alteration in consciousness
- Another major neurologic or psychiatric condition
- Known presence of a structural brain lesion (e.g. tumor, cortical infarct)
- 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
- 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
- Any significant systemic illness or unstable medical condition which could lead to difficulty complying with the study protocol.
- Unwilling to return for follow-up, undergo neuropsychological testing, TMS, and MR imaging
- History of unprovoked seizures (i.e., seizures that occur in the absence of a clear provocation such as hyponatremia, hypoglycemia, etc.).
- Subjects who have a first degree relative (e.g., father, mother or sibling) with a seizure disorder.
- 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.
The sponsor's own eligibility wording, lightly reformatted. The study team makes the final eligibility decision — worth discussing with your doctor.
Eligibility criteria as of 2026-02-20