ArticleTrials2025
Theta Burst Stimulation as a tool to decrease drinking in treatment-seeking alcohol users: study protocol for a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled clinical trial.
Article in Trials, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04154111 (Theta Burst Stimulation as a Tool to Decrease Drinking in Treatment-seeking Alcohol Users), which is not on this map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Theta Burst Stimulation as a Tool to Decrease Drinking in Treatment-seeking Alcohol Users
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Sex Differences in Scalp-to-Cortex Distance: Implications for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Efficacy in Alcohol Use Disorder.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2026Article
- A Customized Neural Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Target for Functional Disability Among Veterans With Co-Occurring Alcohol Use Disorder and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Guidelines for TMS/tES clinical services and research through the COVID-19 pandemic.Brain stimulationArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAlcohol use disorder (AUD) remains a prevalent and challenging condition, with current behavioral and pharmaceutical treatments yielding limited success and high relapse rates. Non-invasive neuromodulation techniques, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), offer promising therapeutic alternatives. TMS has demonstrated efficacy in modulating brain circuits associated with the limbic system and cognitive control, both critical in AUD pathology. While the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) have been identified as potential TMS targets, no studies have evaluated both sites against a sham condition in a single trial. This randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled clinical trial addresses this gap by evaluating the efficacy of multi-session intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) applied to either the DLPFC or MPFC in reducing alcohol consumption, alcohol craving, and brain reactivity to alcohol cues.
methodsOne hundred and eighty individuals with AUD will be randomized to receive real iTBS to the MPFC, real iTBS to the DLPFC, or sham iTBS. Participants will complete 30 treatment sessions, administered in 15 daily sessions spread over 3 to 6 weeks, with pre- and post-treatment MRI scans and 3 months of follow-up. DISCUSSION: By evaluating two cortical targets and leveraging rigorous methodologies, this trial aims to generate insights that could inform future studies optimizing TMS for AUD treatment. Findings will contribute to developing standardized TMS protocols, with the potential to enhance treatment efficacy and support FDA approval, advancing TMS as an intervention for AUD.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04154111. Registered on November 6, 2019.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.