Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation and Substance Use
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Enrollment
- 38
- Locations
- 2
- Primary Endpoint
- Change in Inhibitory Control (Mean D-prime on the Go/No-Go)
Study Overview
Brief Summary
The will investigate the feasibility and effectiveness and initial efficacy of non-invasive transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on distress tolerance and inhibitory control among treatment seeking substance users.
Detailed Description
Disruptions in inhibitory control (IC) and distress tolerance (DT) are implicated in the development and maintenance of substance use disorders. Findings suggest that differential DLPFC engagement during affective and cognitive processing, and in particular, distress tolerance, in substance use disorder may be malleable, providing a promising intervention. Modulating neural oscillations with non-invasive, safe brain stimulation by targeting regions such as the DLPFC may provide an avenue to improve distress tolerance and inhibitory control in SUD. Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) may be a particularly promising approach as it is a safe and non-invasive method of electric stimulation that has the potential to effectively modulate neural network and circuit dynamics, more closely aligning with a network-based conceptualization of affective and cognitive processesThis study will test the effects of tACS on distress tolerance and inhibitory control among treatment-seeking adults with substance use disorder.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Basic Science
- Masking
- Double (Participant, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to 55 Years (Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria
- •Current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) Substance Use Disorder
- •Current smoker
- •Abstinent from all substances (except nicotine) for at least the past 2 weeks
Exclusion Criteria
- •Current use of antiepileptic drugs and/or benzodiazepines
- •Less than 6 months since an electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) session
- •Current DSM-V Psychotic Disorder
- •Pregnancy and/or nursing
- •Ongoing or history of traumatic brain injury (TBI), reoccurring seizures, stroke, or brain tumors
- •Medical or neurological illness
- •Brain devices and/or implants
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Change in Inhibitory Control (Mean D-prime on the Go/No-Go)
Time Frame: From Session 1 to Session 2, up to 6 days
During the computerized Go/No-Go task, participants view a serial stream of pictures and are instructed to continuously press a button on the computer keyboard, but inhibit responses when stimuli are presented consecutively. Inhibitory control will be calculated as d-prime \[z(hit rate) - z(false alarm rate)\]. Each z-score of 0 is equal to the mean of the reference population, with a standard deviation of 1. Positive d-prime values indicate more inhibitory control, and negative values indicate less inhibitory control.
Change in Distress Tolerance (Mean Latency to Quit the PASAT-C)
Time Frame: From Session 1 to Session 2, up to 6 days
The Computerized Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT-C) is a psychological distress-inducing task. Numbers are presented sequentially on a computer screen and participants are asked to add the currently presented number to the previously presented number before the next number is presented. Participants select the answer using a computer mouse on a number pad displayed on the computer screen below the presented numbers. The speed of the number presentations is individually titrated in order to account for some individual differences in cognitive capacity, but not to secure equal performance among individuals. Incorrect or delayed responses are met with an aversive explosion sound. Distress tolerance is the latency to task termination (i.e., time until quit in minutes).
Secondary Outcomes
No secondary outcomes reported