Transcranial direct current stimulation of the frontal-parietal-temporal area attenuates cue-induced craving for heroin.
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is an effective approach to modulate brain region functions. We assessed if a single tDCS session over the bilateral frontal-parietal-temporal (FPT) areas would reduce cue induced craving in heroin addicts.



Twenty non-treated, long-term heroin-addicted subjects were randomly assigned to receive either real tDCS (1.5 mA, cathodal over bilateral FPT for 20 min) or control tDCS stimulation (turning off the stimulation after 30 s). The participants received heroin cue exposure (containing both injection and inhalation procedures) before and after stimulation and rated their craving after each block of cue presentation.



Stimulation of the bilateral FPT with real tDCS for 20 min reduced craving scores significantly (68 ± 8.4 pre-stimulation vs. 43 ± 7.6 post-stimulation, p = 0.003), while the control stimulation group showed no significant changes. No side effects of tDCS were reported.



One session of tDCS over bilateral FPT area significantly reduced subjective craving score induced by heroin cues in heroin addicted subjects.
School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China; Department of Psychology, Swansea University, UK.
Yingjie
Y
Wang
Rehabilitation Medicine Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Ying
Y
Shen
Da Lian Shan Institute of Addiction Rehabilitation, Nanjing, China.
Xinyu
X
Cao
Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Chunlei
C
Shan
Da Lian Shan Institute of Addiction Rehabilitation, Nanjing, China.
Jibin
J
Pan
Da Lian Shan Institute of Addiction Rehabilitation, Nanjing, China.
Hao
H
He
State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China. Electronic address: yuanma0716@vip.sina.com.
Yuanye
Y
Ma
School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China. Electronic address: ytf0707@126.com.
Ti-Fei
TF
Yuan
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D066249:Craving / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D065908:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome
Craving; Frontal-parietal-temporal area; Heroin; Transcranial direct current stimulation