Prefrontal Neuroplasticity and Coping Strategies in Healthy Population

March 29, 2026 updated by: Dr Georg Kranz, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Prefrontal Neuroplasticity and Coping Strategies in Healthy Population: a Randomized Sham Controlled Trial

The current study serves as a pilot for the GRF project "Predicting illness trajectories in fully remitted major depression using concurrent TBS/fNIRS." The project examines whether intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) induces immediate changes in prefrontal excitability in healthy individuals, compared to sham stimulation. In this randomized, sham-controlled trial, investigators will assess several psychological measures-including the Perceived Stress Scale and the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations-to explore how stress levels and coping strategies relate to immediate prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity changes following TBS.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

42

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

  • China
    • 九龙
      • Hong Kong, 九龙, China
        • Recruiting
        • The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
        • 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

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18-60 years old;

Exclusion Criteria:

  • a family history of psychiatric disorders;
  • history of or currently diagnosed neuropsychiatric conditions;
  • history of or active systemic illnesses such as cancer, epilepsy, diabetes, hypertension, or other medical conditions;
  • contraindications to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS);
  • any prior exposure to brain stimulation procedures.

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: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Real Stimulation
Participants in this arm will receive a real session of iTBS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
Device: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
sham stimulation protocols is to mimic the sensations experienced by participants during active stimulation, without stimulating the brain
Other Names:
  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Sham
Sham Comparator: Sham Stimulation
Participants in this arm will receive a sham session of iTBS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
Device: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
sham stimulation protocols is to mimic the sensations experienced by participants during active stimulation, without stimulating the brain
Other Names:
  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Sham

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
iTBS induced prefrontal cortex activity and connectivity
Time Frame: 3 minutes before, during, and after the stimulation
3 minutes before, during, and after the stimulation

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
perceived stress scale
Time Frame: the same day before conducting the experiment
the same day before conducting the experiment
coping inventory for stressful situations
Time Frame: the same day before conducting the experiment
the same day before conducting the experiment

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

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 (Actual)

January 17, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 30, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 19, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 19, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

February 25, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 2, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 29, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • HSEARS20230705001-04

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

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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