The Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on Drug Use Craving and Cognitive Self-Control of Substance Abusers

Drug addiction is one of the most important health issues due to the difficulty of achieving sustainable treatment and high rates of relapse despite the need for detoxification and medical and psychological interventions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the degree of substance use craving and cognitive self-control in substance abusers. This research was indeed a pilot study with randomized assignment in experimental and control groups with pre-test and post-test. The number of 40 opiate dependent patients presenting to methadone treatment centers were selected by random sampling. After responding to questionnaires of craving and cognitive self-control, they were randomly divided into experimental (n=20) and control (n=20) groups. The measurement tools used in this study were Franklin's Craving Questionnaire (2002) and Grasmick's Cognitive Self-Control Inventory. Therapeutic sessions of tDCS included 20 minutes of F3 anodic stimulation and F4 cathodic stimulation with a flow rate of 2 mA. The results of multivariate covariance showed that the mean scores of groups in the degree of craving and cognitive self-control were different in the post-test phase. It is hereby concluded that tDCS can reduce depression and increase cognitive self-control in substance abusers. Therefore, therapists can use this treatment as an addiction treatment method