Feasibility Open Label Study Evaluating The Use Of Process-Instructed Self Neuro-Modulation (PRISM) For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Feasibility Open Label Study Evaluating The Use Of Process-Instructed Self Neuro-Modulation (PRISM) For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

This is a single-arm, open-label feasibility study. A maximum of 15 participants will be enrolled. All participants will undergo a novel neurofeedback intervention, targeting down-regulation of deep limbic structures, specifically the amygdalae. Participants will complete 12 neurofeedback sessions delivered twice weekly over 6 consecutive weeks. The intervention will be delivered via the PRISM platform.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adults ages 18-65 years
• Able to provide signed informed consent
• Any gender
• Diagnosis of PTSD as established by DSM-V
• 1 to 15 years since index trauma
• Taking a stable dose of SSRI antidepressants for at least 3 months OR un-medicated for at least 2 months
• Normal or corrected-to-normal vision
• Normal or corrected-to-normal hearing
• No intention of changing medication or psychotherapy for the duration of the study at the time of recruitment

Exclusion Criteria:

• Concurrent substance abuse
• Use of any prescribed benzodiazepine
• Lifetime bipolar disorder, psychotic disorder, autism, mental retardation. Comorbid mood and anxiety disorders will be permitted if they are not the primary focus of clinical attention
• Active suicidality within past year, or history of suicide attempt in past 2 years
• Any history of severe past drug dependence (i.e., a focus of clinical attention or a cause of substantial social or occupational difficulty)
• Any unstable medical or neurological condition
• Any history of brain surgery, of penetrating, neurovascular, infectious, or other major brain injury, of epilepsy, or of other major neurological abnormality (including a history of traumatic brain injury [TBI] with loss of consciousness for more than 24 hours or posttraumatic amnesia for more than 7 days)
• Any psychotropic medication other than a stable dose of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
• Any change in accepted psychotropic medication within the past 2 months
• Recent initiation (within the past 3 months) of cognitive-behavioral therapy or any evidence-based PTSD psychotherapy (Cognitive Processing Therapy [CPT], Prolonged Exposure [PE], Eye Movement -Desensitization and Reprocessing [EMDR]); continuation of established maintenance supportive therapy will be permitted
• Significant hearing loss or severe sensory impairment
• Enrollment in another research study testing an experimental, clinical, or behavioral intervention intended to affect symptoms initiated within the last 2 months, or intended enrollment within the next 2.5 months