Evaluation of the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation of dorsolateral zone of prefrontal cortex on methamphetamine craving

According to prevalence of amphetamine abuse and necessity of appropriate treatments, the present research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) of DorsoLateral zone of PreFrontal Cortex (DLFPC) on craving in methamphetamine abusers.

Method and materials: 

In this cross-sectional double-blind study, with pre and post-test, 30 methamphetamine-dependent patients were included according to the inclusion criteria. We applied 20 min ‘anodal’ tDCS (2 mA) or ‘sham’ tDCS over right DLPFC in a random sequence while subjects performed aomputerized cue-induced craving task (CICT) starting after 10 min of stimulation. Immediate craving was assessed before the stimulation, after 10 min of tDCS, and after tDCS termination by visual analog scale (VAS) of 0 to 100.

The results showed that in the real tDCS group 10 minutes after the start of electrical stimulation, while in the control group the mock tDCS did not change significantly the craving rate for methamphetamine. Also the result showed the rate of methamphetamine cravings increased in both groups after the 20 minutes (P> 0.05).

Using transcranial direct current stimulation as a complementary treatment is recommended for decreasing drug craving