Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in behavioral and food addiction: a systematic review of efficacy, technical, and methodological issues.
OBJECTIVE
Behavioral addictions (BA) are complex disorders for which pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments have shown their limits. Non-invasive brain stimulation, among which transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), has opened up new perspectives in addiction treatment. The purpose of this work is to conduct a critical and systematic review of tDCS efficacy, and of technical and methodological considerations in the field of BA.


METHODS
A bibliographic search has been conducted on the Medline and ScienceDirect databases until December 2014, based on the following selection criteria: clinical studies on tDCS and BA (namely eating disorders, compulsive buying, Internet addiction, pathological gambling, sexual addiction, sports addiction, video games addiction). Study selection, data analysis, and reporting were conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines.


RESULTS
Out of 402 potential articles, seven studies were selected. So far focusing essentially on abnormal eating, these studies suggest that tDCS (right prefrontal anode/left prefrontal cathode) reduces food craving induced by visual stimuli.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite methodological and technical differences between studies, the results are promising. So far, only few studies of tDCS in BA have been conducted. New research is recommended on the use of tDCS in BA, other than eating disorders.
Addictology and Liaison Psychiatry Department, Nantes University Hospital Nantes, France ; Clinical Investigation Unit 18-BALANCED "BehaviorAL AddictioNs and ComplEx Mood Disorders", University Hospital of Nantes Nantes, France ; Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Bellvitge-IDIBELL Barcelona, Spain.
Anne
A
Sauvaget
Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, University Hospital of Dijon Dijon, France ; Behavioral Addictions Program, NANT New Addictions New Treatments, Addiction Division, Department of Mental Health and Psychiatry, University Hospital of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland.
Benoît
B
Trojak
Addictology and Liaison Psychiatry Department, Nantes University Hospital Nantes, France ; Clinical Investigation Unit 18-BALANCED "BehaviorAL AddictioNs and ComplEx Mood Disorders", University Hospital of Nantes Nantes, France.
Samuel
S
Bulteau
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Bellvitge-IDIBELL Barcelona, Spain ; CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición, Instituto de Salud Carlos III Barcelona, Spain.
Susana
S
Jiménez-Murcia
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Bellvitge-IDIBELL Barcelona, Spain ; CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición, Instituto de Salud Carlos III Barcelona, Spain.
Fernando
F
Fernández-Aranda
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Bellvitge-IDIBELL Barcelona, Spain ; CIBER Fisiopatología Obesidad y Nutrición, Instituto de Salud Carlos III Barcelona, Spain.
Ines
I
Wolz
Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Bellvitge-IDIBELL Barcelona, Spain ; CIBER Salud Mental, Instituto de Salud Carlos III Barcelona, Spain.
José M
JM
Menchón
Behavioral Addictions Program, NANT New Addictions New Treatments, Addiction Division, Department of Mental Health and Psychiatry, University Hospital of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland.
Sophia
S
Achab
Addictology and Liaison Psychiatry Department, Nantes University Hospital Nantes, France ; Clinical Investigation Unit 18-BALANCED "BehaviorAL AddictioNs and ComplEx Mood Disorders", University Hospital of Nantes Nantes, France.
Jean-Marie
JM
Vanelle
Addictology and Liaison Psychiatry Department, Nantes University Hospital Nantes, France ; Clinical Investigation Unit 18-BALANCED "BehaviorAL AddictioNs and ComplEx Mood Disorders", University Hospital of Nantes Nantes, France ; EA 4275 "Biostatistics, Clinical Research and Subjective Measures in Health Sciences", University of Nantes Nantes, France.
Marie
M
Grall-Bronnec
behavioral addiction; craving; eating disorders; food craving; neuromodulation; non-invasive brain stimulation; transcranial direct current stimulation