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The Use of Magnetic Brain Stimulation to Treat Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, a Pilot Study

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Interventions
Device: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Registration Number
NCT02541812
Lead Sponsor
University of Manitoba
Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is two-fold: first, to observe the effect of one session of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on the error-prediction abilities of patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) as well as healthy individuals; and second, to observe the clinical effect of 10 sessions of rTMS in patients with OCD.

Detailed Description

A battery of cognitive tasks designed to selectively measure several aspects of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) function, will be administered before and after one session of rTMS in all participants. The first neurocognitive session will be administered in a separate day from the rTMS session. The second neurocognitive session will be performed immediately after rTMS and in the same day. Participants will perform five tasks designed to test: error processing, error likelihood assessment, meta-memory, response inhibition, and affect recognition.

The rTMS paradigm will consist of four short trains of magnetic pulses which include 5 minutes of stimulation with 1Hz frequency (overall 1200 pulses in one session) with an intensity of 110% of each participant's motor threshold, and 2 minute intervals between the stimulation trains. Stimulation will be applied over the dorsal ACC (dACC) using a double-cone rTMS coil. dACC will be precisely targeted using neuronavigation software loaded a high resolution MRI of each subjects' brain.

OCD patients will go on to receive two weeks (10 sessions) of daily rTMS treatments using the same protocol described above.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
20
Inclusion Criteria
  • Diagnosed obsessive compulsive disorder
  • Not currently receiving cognitive behavioural therapy
  • Not currently on any medication or only taking one selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)
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Exclusion Criteria
  • History of psychotic episodes
  • History of neurological illness
  • Previous head injury
  • Active alcohol or substance abuse
  • History of seizure disorders
  • Currently pregnant
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Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
PatientsTranscranial Magnetic StimulationTen sessions of 1Hz repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder
Healthy Control SubjectsTranscranial Magnetic StimulationOne session of 1Hz repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex in healthy control individuals
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Obsessive and Compulsive Symptom Severity (Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale)Recordings: baseline; after two weeks of rTMS

Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale. Minimum value = 0. Maximum value = 40. Higher scores indicate greater severity of obsessive and compulsive symptoms.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change in Post-error SlowingRecordings: baseline; after one session of rTMS

Post-error slowing (PES) is the difference in response time on trials following an error to trials following a correct response. Higher numbers indicate more post-error slowing (i.e. longer response times following an error trial compared to following a correct trial). The outcome measure is the change in PES from baseline to following one session of rTMS.

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