With this research investigators hope to begin to understand how rTMS can improve posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. TMS improves PTSD through two interrelated mechanisms: change in brain limbic system function and change in systemic inflammatory activation. Participants who decide to join this study, will receive ten rTMS treatments. All participants will undergo a 40-minute rTMS procedure with a member of the study team 10 times over 2-4 weeks. Participants will undergo fMRI scans of the head in order to help researchers better understand potential effects of rTMS on brain activity. In addition, participants will be asked to give two breath and blood samples to look for signs of general inflammation.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
20
10 sessions of low frequency rTMS (1Hz) applied to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
White River Junction VA Hospital
White River Junction, Vermont, United States
RECRUITINGFrequency and intensity of PTSD symptoms as assessed by the CAPS-5
The CAPS is a clinician-administered scale of PTSD symptoms, which queries the frequency and intensity of symptoms of PTSD
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 3 months
20 item self-report of PTSD symptoms assessed by PCL-5
It asks participants to rate the severity of each of the 20 symptoms of PTSD in DSM-5
Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 3 months
A quick self-reported and self administered inventory of depressive symptoms (QIDS-16-SR)
This is a self-reported, self- administered scale of depressive symptoms.
Time frame: From the baseline to the end of the study at 3 months
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