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Paired tVNS With ERP in OCD

Pairing tVNS and Exposure and Response Prevention to Improve Symptoms of OCD

Status
Recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05580614
Enrollment
56
Registered
2022-10-14
Start date
2022-06-27
Completion date
2026-08-31
Last updated
2025-10-27

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

OCD

Brief summary

In the proposed investigation, the investigator will develop pilot data for the use of tVNS (transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation) to enhance efficacy of exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP) to improve treatment success in patients with OCD. This data will include tolerability information from therapists and patients with OCD, effect sizes on real world clinical outcomes for the combinatory treatment, and mechanistic data on brain changes associated with treatment.

Interventions

DEVICESham

MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) paired ERP/Sham YBOCs(Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale) (4,8,12) OCI-R (every other session). YBOCs and OCI-R will also be administered at intake and 4 weeks post treatment.

DEVICEtVNS

MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) paired ERP/tVNS YBOC's (Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale) (4, 8, 12) OCI-R (every other session). YBOCs and OCI-R will also be administered at intake and 4 weeks post treatment.

Sponsors

International OCD Foundation
CollaboratorUNKNOWN
University of Florida
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 55 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Adults between the ages of 18 and 55 * Meet DSM-5 criteria for OCD, based on a structured clinical interview and who have a YBOCS score of 15 or higher, indicating at least moderate OCD severity * Participants must be willing and able to provide informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

* Participants with major neurological conditions, autism spectrum disorder, psychosis, major uncorrected sensory deficit, and severe medical disease that may be associated with neurological effects. * People with an active eating disorder that requires treatment, but we will not exclude people who are in remission. * Current illicit or prescription drug abuse * Participants who are receiving pharmacotherapy for their OCD or for other psychiatric disorders will not be excluded * No medication changes will be allowed during the study, and participants must be on stable doses of medications for at least 6 weeks prior to entering the study. Prior ERP treatment (at least 12 months removed) is acceptable

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Yale Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS)Baseline up to 1 month post treatmentA test to rate the severity of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms. The 10 Y-BOCS items are each scored on a four-point scale from 0 = no symptoms to 4 = extreme symptoms. The sum of the first five items is a severity index for obsessions, and the sum of the last five an index for compulsions. Total scores on the measure range from 0 to 40, with a score of 0-7 indicating subclinical symptoms, 8-15 mild symptoms, 16-23 moderate symptoms, 24-31 severe symptoms and 32-40 extreme symptoms. The scale can also provide a subscale score for obsessions and compulsions (range 0-20) separately.

Countries

United States

Contacts

Primary ContactLaura Jones, M.S.
laura.jones@ufl.edu352 265-0294

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026