Cognitively-enhanced tDCS of the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex to Reduce Craving in Cocaine Addiction
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Summary
The researchers will test whether cognitively enhanced transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex can reduce craving in inpatients with cocaine use disorder. Neuroimaging before and after stimulation will establish the neural correlates of recovery and allow predictions of outcomes, which will be assessed throughout the study and one month after its completion. Results could pave the way towards development of a new self-administered intervention to reduce craving when it is needed the most, enhancing recovery real-time and in the natural environment in people with cocaine addiction as generalizable to other drugs of abuse and other disorders of self-control.
Description
Over the past decade, the US has been affected by a re-emerging stimulant use public health crisis and alarming increases in crack/cocaine-related overdose deaths. In contrast to other types of addiction, there are no FDA approved treatments for crack/cocaine use disorder (CUD). Developing and testing evidence-based treatment options for this population, and exploring the underlying neural substrates, are therefore urgently needed. Core symptoms of addiction are craving and heightened reactivity to drug cues, attributed to impairments in prefrontal functions. This study builds upon Phase-1 and…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–60 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Ability to understand and give informed consent * Men and women 18-60 years of age. * For women of childbearing potential, current use of a medically acceptable form of birth control * DSM-5 diagnosis of stimulant use disorder with crack/cocaine as the drug of choice Exclusion Criteria: * Lifetime diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, bipolar I disorder, or delusional disorder as confirmed by the MINI or autism spectrum disorder as confirmed by medical history at the screening visit * Current clinically significant or unstable…
Interventions
- DeviceTranscranial Direct Current Stimulator (tDCS)
Participants will have two electrodes applied (one anode, one cathode) administering active (real) or sham (placebo, not real) tDCS stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Stimulation will last 20 minutes per day, three days per week, for 5 weeks
- BehavioralCognitive Reappraisal Training
Cognitive reappraisal of drug cues during stimulation sessions
Location
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew York, New York