# Effect of TMS on PTSD Neuroimaging and Psychophysiological Biomarkers

> **NIH NIH K01** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $178,805

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The purpose of this K01 proposal is to enable the PI to become an independent research investigator with
expertise in focal neuromodulation, clinical investigations, and neuroimaging and psychophysiological biomarker
research in traumatized populations and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The candidate's long-term goal
is to build a NIH-funded research program to advance treatment for trauma-related disorders by understanding
the neurobiological mechanisms of treatment and identifying predictive biomarkers for treatment outcome. The
proposed study leverages the PI's experience with pre- and post-treatment studies in traumatized populations,
PTSD biomarker research, and her strong foundation in neuroimaging and longitudinal data analyses. The
training plan includes structured mentoring, hands-on training in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and
brain functional connectivity (FC) analyses, didactic coursework and a rigorous proposed research study in order
to provide new training in 1) focal neuromodulation (TMS), 2) clinical investigations, 3) FC analyses, and
additional training in 4) PTSD biomarkers, and 5) career development.
With 30-50% of PTSD patients not responding to first line therapies, novel treatments are warranted; however,
development is hampered by a lack of understanding of neural mechanisms underlying recovery from PTSD.
TMS studies in PTSD have applied 1Hz stimulation over the rDLPFC and demonstrated a potential therapeutic
effect, but the mechanism of TMS remains unclear. This K01 proposal aims to advance TMS treatment for PTSD
by better understanding the mechanism of action of TMS and examining the effect of 1Hz rDLPFC stimulation
on PTSD neuroimaging and psychophysiological biomarkers, particularly related to the fear neurocircuitry often
implicated in PTSD and hypothesized to be improved by DLPFC stimulation. The proposed experiments leverage
the infrastructure of the Grady Trauma Project (GTP), the largest civilian PTSD research study, for patient
recruitment and clinical and biological assessment foundation. PTSD patients will be recruited and randomized
to a TMS (N=30) or sham treatment (N=30) group. Neuroimaging and psychophysiological data will be collected
in the week before and after the two-week treatment period (week 4). This K01 project will significantly contribute
to the advancement of treatment for PTSD by: 1) determining if 1Hz TMS to the right DLPFC improves PTSD
intermediate phenotypes; 2) suggesting novel brain modulation targets for future studies; 3) providing preliminary
data for future studies examining individual differences for treatment response; and 4) advancing our
understanding of neurobiology of PTSD treatment response using TMS as a probe.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10054587
- **Project number:** 1K01MH121653-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Sanne JH van Rooij
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $178,805
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-07-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10054587

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10054587, Effect of TMS on PTSD Neuroimaging and Psychophysiological Biomarkers (1K01MH121653-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10054587. Licensed CC0.

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