Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Adolescents and Young Adults With Cannabis Use Disorder

June 2, 2026 updated by: University of Minnesota
This pilot study will investigate the potential of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to strengthen a neural circuit critical for maintaining abstinence in adolescents and youth with cannabis use disorder (CUD).

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

50

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

    • Minnesota
      • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55455
        • University of Minnesota
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 15-21 years old
  • For minors, parent/legal guardian able to provide consent and child able to provide assent; for adults, ability to self-consent per MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Clinical Research
  • Ability to comply with study procedures
  • Treatment-seeking youth diagnosed with CUD as per the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI-KID (Sheehan et al., 2010) for 15-17 years old and MINI (Sheehan et al., 1998) for 18-21 years old)
  • Cannabis use 3+ days per week (or 12+ days in the past month) as verified by Timeline Followback (TLFB) (Sobell & Sobell, 1996)
  • Fluent in spoken English

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Medical conditions contraindicated or associated with altered TMS risk profile, including history of intracranial pathology, intracranial lesions, epilepsy or seizure disorders, or individuals with a family history of epilepsy or seizure in a first degree relative, traumatic brain injury, brain tumor, stroke, neurocardiogenic syncope, mania/bipolar disorder, implanted medical devices or metallic objects in the head, current pregnancy or not using effective contraception if capable of becoming pregnant, or any other serious medical condition or contraindication as judged by the study physician; moderate to severe heart disease, pediatric populations with risk factors for neurocardiogenic syncope (history of syncope/presyncope related to noxious stimuli, anxiety, micturation, or posture)
  • Inability to undergo MRI.
  • Diagnosis of psychosis, cognitive disability or active suicidality. The MINI (Sheehan et al., 1998, 2010) will be used to assess current psychiatric comorbidities and the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) will be used to assess suicidality (Horowitz et al., 2012).
  • Primary current alcohol or substance use disorder, except for caffeine or nicotine.
  • Taking a medication with high seizurogenic potential (e.g., clomipramine, tricyclic antidepressants, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, anti-psychotics, lithium, bupropion -e.g. Wellbutrin). Participants taking psychotropic medications will be included if dose is stable for ≥4 weeks with no anticipated changes during the study period. All concurrent treatments will be monitored during the study period.

    • If an individual is currently taking antibiotics that affect the central nervous system such as Fluoroquinolones (Ciprofloxacin, Levofloxacin, Moxifloxacin) or Imipenem, medications that have the potential of lowering seizure threshold, participation in the study will be delayed until 5 days after the last antibiotic dose.
    • If an individual is taking antihistamines (i.e. Benadryl/diphenhydramine), they will be asked to refrain from using the antihistamine for at least 24 hours before the TMS session. If the participant is not able to do so, they will be excluded from the study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Active rTMS
During TMS, a pulsed magnetic field is produced by a small coil positioned over a targeted area on the scalp, inducing an electric current in the brain that temporarily modulates cortical activity. Repetitive TMS (rTMS) paradigms use trains of pulses to induce cortical effects that outlast the duration of stimulation.
Intermittent burst stimulation (iTBS) bursts of 3 pulses at 30 Hz repeated every 200ms for 2 s (1 train), trains repeat every 10s apart (8s inter-burst interval between trains), 600 total pulses, 70% RMT (190 sec duration)
Sham Comparator: Sham rTMS
All sham participants will be exposed to the same procedures as the active rTMS condition but using the sham air-cooled coil. The sham coil looks and sounds the same as the active coil but it has a shield in it that blocks the magnetic field (so it is not stimulating the brain at all).
All sham participants will be exposed to the same procedures as the active rTMS condition but using the sham air-cooled coil. The sham coil looks and sounds the same as the active coil but it has a shield in it that blocks the magnetic field (so it is not stimulating the brain at all).

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Feasibility, tolerability, and acceptability of rTMS
Time Frame: Month 4
Daily side-effects reports on each intervention day and an exit interview will be collected.
Month 4
rTMS effects on neural target engagement
Time Frame: Month 4
Pre- and post-intervention resting connectivity fMRI data will be collected to examine changes in LDLPFC-cACC connectivity
Month 4
Changes in CUD recovery metrics
Time Frame: Month 4
Cannabis craving will be measured using a validated self-report scale. Cannabis use will be evaluated during in-person monthly visits across a 3-month follow-up period, using interviewer-administered assessments and urine toxicology. An optional component of the study will include daily smartphone-based brief surveys to remotely track self-reported cannabis craving and use in real time.
Month 4

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Jazmin Camchong, PhD, University of Minnesota

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

March 1, 2027

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 31, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 31, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 2, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 2, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 9, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 2, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PSYCH-2026-33908

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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