mRNA Expression in Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes in Drug Addicted Patients.

gene heterodimerizes with Jun family proteins to form activator protein 1 (AP-1) complexes that bind to AP-1 sites in responsive genes to regulate transcription in all cells. The genic expression of seems to be modified after long time exposure to drugs of abuse and these changes may be involved in craving and addicted behavior. This study investigated the mRNA expression in peripheral blood lymphocytes of drug addicted patients using real-time PCR approach.

Lack of Effects of Extended Sessions of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Over Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex on Craving and Relapses in Crack-Cocaine Users.

Non-invasive brain stimulation such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been investigated as additional therapeutic tool for drug use disorder. In a previous study, we showed that five sessions of tDCS applied bilaterally over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) reduced craving to the use of crack-cocaine in inpatients from a specialized clinic. In the present study, we examine if an extended number of sessions of the same intervention would reduce craving even further and affect also relapses to crack-cocaine use.

Multiple Sessions of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Reduced Craving and Relapses for Alcohol Use: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial in Alcohol Use Disorder.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, has been studied as an adjunctive therapeutic agent for alcohol dependence. In a previous study, we showed that five consecutive sessions of tDCS applied bilaterally over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) reduced relapse to the use of alcohol in alcohol use disorder (AUD) outpatients. However, no changes on craving scores were observed.

Ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) as a target of the dorsolateral prefrontal modulation by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in drug addiction.

Here, we report some electrophysiologic and imaging effects of the transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) in drug addiction, notably in alcohol and crack-cocaine dependence. The low resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) analysis obtained through event-related potentials (ERPs) under drug-related cues, more specifically in its P3 segment (300-500 ms) in both, alcoholics and crack-cocaine users, showed that the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) was the brain area with the largest change towards increasing activation under drug-related cues in those subjects that kept abstinence during and after the treatment with bilateral tDCS (2 mA, 35 cm(2), cathodal left and anodal right) over dlPFC, applied repetitively (five daily sessions). In an additional study in crack-cocaine, which showed craving decreases after repetitive bilateral tDCS, we examined data originating from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and we found increased DTI parameters in the left connection between vmPFC and nucleus accumbens (NAcc), such as the number of voxels, fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), in tDCS-treated crack-cocaine users when compared to the sham-tDCS group.

A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of Targeted Prefrontal Cortex Modulation with Bilateral tDCS in Patients with Crack-Cocaine Dependence.

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex has been shown to be clinically useful in the treatment of drug addiction.

Methods: We conducted a double-blind randomized clinical trial aiming to assess the effects of bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex transcranial direct current stimulation (left cathodal/right anodal) on crack-cocaine addiction. We defined craving as the primary outcome, and other clinical measurements, including depressive and anxiety symptoms, and quality of life, as secondary outcomes.

A randomized controlled trial of targeted prefrontal cortex modulation with tDCS in patients with alcohol dependence.

Preliminary small studies have shown that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) reduces craving in alcoholic subjects. It is unclear whether tDCS also leads to changes in clinically meaningful outcomes for alcohol dependence in a properly powered phase II randomized clinical trial. We aimed to investigate whether repetitive tDCS changes the risk of alcohol use relapse in severe alcoholics from outpatient services.

Behavioral effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) induced dorsolateral prefrontal cortex plasticity in alcohol dependence.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to reduce acute substance craving in drug addicts, and improve cognition in neuropsychiatric patients. Here we aimed to explore further tDCS induced behavioral and neurophysiological modulation including assessment of relapse rate over a prolonged time course in alcoholism. We examined the effects of repeated anodal tDCS (2mA, 35 cm(2), 20min) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) on relapse to the use of alcohol in alcoholics from outpatient services, who received additional routine clinical treatment.