Safety and feasibility of accelerated deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for stimulant use disorder: A pilot study

Published online October 16, 2026. An intensive 10-day deep-TMS schedule was feasible for some participants and caused no serious adverse events, but craving and stimulant use did not significantly change. Larger sham-controlled studies are needed.

Richard M, Bousseau E, Desbeaumes Jodoin V, Guibene E, Blumberger DM, Baker TE, Assi EB, Dubreucq S, Juster RP, Jutras-Aswad D, Lespérance P, Miron JP.
Psychiatry Research · Publication date: 2026-10-16
Added to site: 2026-10-18
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2026.117538

First published online October 16, 2026; assigned to the January 2027 issue. Added to Neurofeedback.com October 18, 2026.

Modalities

Deep TMS, Accelerated TMS, rTMS

Clinical focus

Stimulant use disorder, Feasibility, Safety

Population

Adults with moderate to severe stimulant use disorder

Sample

19 enrolled, 16 initiated treatment and 12 completed at least 80% of sessions

Intervention / method

Participants received 30 sessions of 20 Hz deep TMS with an H7 coil, delivered as three sessions per day across 10 days to target medial prefrontal and anterior cingulate regions.

Comparator

No sham or active control; outcomes were measured over time

Clinician summary

Twelve of 16 treatment starters completed at least 80% of sessions. No serious adverse events occurred; mild headache affected 75% and fatigue 69%. Depression (P = .020) and withdrawal (P = .033) improved, while anxiety, rumination, craving and stimulant use did not (all P > .05).

How to interpret the findings

Small single-arm open-label pilot with attrition, no sham comparator and multiple exploratory outcomes. Improvements over time cannot be attributed to stimulation, and the clinically central craving and stimulant-use outcomes were null.

Equipment and disclosures

H7 deep-TMS coil; the abstract does not identify the manufacturer. No BrainMaster attribution.

Crossref lists FRQS and CIHR funding. Daniel M. Blumberger reported research support from public and philanthropic sources, BrainsWay grant and in-kind equipment support and sponsor-initiated study roles, MagVenture in-kind equipment, Indivior medication supplies, a Sooma Medical advisory role and unpaid Clinical TMS Society committee membership. Other authors reported no relevant conflicts. No indexed correction, retraction or concern notice appeared in the retained PubMed or Crossref records; this is a bounded check. AI-assisted review.

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