The effectiveness of neurofeedback on cravings in substance abusers

One of the most important public health problems in recent years and one of the main crises of the 21st century is substance use disorders and addiction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of neurofeedback on cravings in substance abusers.

This study was a quasi-experimental study with random assignment of subjects in experimental and control groups along with pretest and posttest. 18 opioid-dependent patients referred to methadone treatment centers in Zahedan were selected by random sampling and then randomly divided into experimental (n = 9) and control (n = 9) groups. The instrument used in this study was Franken (2002) Consumption Questionnaire. Neurofeedback sessions consisted of 20 sessions, each session lasting 30 minutes. Then both groups answered the questionnaire again. The obtained data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance.

The indicators show that in the components of desire to consume (F = 3.97), negative reinforcement (F = 14.57), perceived control (F = 6.56), general craving (F = 6.38) between There are significant differences between the experimental and control groups; In other words, neurofeedback reduced post-test cravings in the experimental group.

According to the results, it seems that neurofeedback can reduce cravings in substance abusers. Therefore, therapists are advised to use neurofeedback as an intervention method to treat addicts.