Behavioral Impact of Prefrontal Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Smokers
Overview
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Addiction
- Sponsor
- Hôpital le Vinatier
- Enrollment
- 38
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Smoking
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 8 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
The aim of this study is to determine whether a powerful technique of noninvasive brain stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), could reduce cigarette smoking and constitute a treatment of tobacco addiction.
Detailed Description
Tobacco is estimated to cause more than 5 millions yearly deaths in the developed world. Although most smokers would like to quit, relapse rates remain high. It seems that this relapse is linked with the process of craving, which is a powerful desire to smoke elicited by smoking deprivation or exposure to situations or cues that are associated with smoking. Neuroimaging studies have shown that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and especially the right part, is critically involved in processing the craving of smoking. Increasing the activity of the DLPFC by noninvasive brain stimulation has been demonstrated to be effective in decreasing craving symptoms in cigarette smokers. The aim of this study is to determine whether a powerful technique of noninvasive brain stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), could reduce cigarette smoking. tDCS is a painless and safe brain stimulation method capable of modulating cortical excitability. The nature of these modulations depends on stimulation polarity: anodal tDCS is thought to cause neuronal depolarisation and thus enhancing cortical excitability whereas cathodal stimulation is proposed to reduce excitability. The investigators hypothesize that anodal tDCS applied repetitively to the right DLPFC could constitute a treatment of tobacco addiction. Therefore, the investigators will conduct a sham-tDCS-controlled, randomized, double-blind study.
Investigators
Dr. E. Poulet
PUPH
Hôpital le Vinatier
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Age from 18 to 55 years old
- •Tobacco consumption from 10 to 25 cigarettes, for at least 1 year
- •Strong tobacco dependence at the Fagerstrom Test (score \>= 5)
- •Motivation to quit with a score \>=12 at the Motivation to Quit Smoking Scale (Q-MAT)
- •Informed consent
Exclusion Criteria
- •Concomitant Axe I psychiatric disorder according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM IV)
- •Other addictive disorder (DSM IV)
- •No history of smoking cessation drug the previous year
- •Psychotropic treatment
- •Pregnancy or nursing
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Smoking
Time Frame: Baseline (three days before starting tDCS regimen) to one-month after
Self-reported number of cigarettes smoked each day
Secondary Outcomes
- Exhaled carbon monoxide(Baseline, one-week (after the last tDCS session) and one-month later)
- Craving(For each of the 10 tDCS sessions: Baseline and 0 hour post-tDCS (immediately after))
- fMRI brain reactivity during a smoking cue-reactivity task(Baseline and one-week (after the last tDCS session))