Citation

Claus ED, Klimaj SD, Chavez R, Martinez AD, Clark VP. Alcohol Clin. Exp. Res. 2019; 43(7): 1591-1599.

Affiliation

Psychology Clinical Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychology, University of New, Mexico.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/acer.14111

PMID

31081924

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Deriving novel treatments for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) is of critical importance, as existing treatments are only modestly effective for reducing drinking. Two promising strategies for treating AUDs include cognitive bias modification (CBM) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). While each strategy has shown positive results in reducing drinking or alcohol related constructs (e.g., craving), initial tests of the combination of CBM and tDCS have shown mixed results. The present study investigated the degree to which combining CBM and tDCS (2.0 mA anodal current over F10) could reduce alcohol approach biases and alcohol consumption.

METHODS: Seventy-nine at-risk drinkers were randomized to one of four conditions in a 2 x 2 factorial design: Verum CBM/Verum tDCS, Verum CBM/Sham tDCS, Sham CBM/Verum tDCS, or Sham CBM/Sham tDCS. Participants completed a baseline assessment of alcohol approach bias and drinking quantity/frequency (i.e., drinks per drinking day (DDD) and percent heavy drinking days (PHDD)), four sessions of combined CBM/tDCS, and follow-up assessments of approach bias and alcohol consumption.

RESULTS: Results indicated that while participants did demonstrate significant alcohol approach biases at baseline, neither CBM, tDCS, nor the interaction reduced the bias at the follow-up. In addition, there was evidence of a trend towards reducing DDD from baseline to the one-week/one-month follow-ups, but there was no significant effect of intervention on either DDD or PHDD.

CONCLUSIONS: These results partially replicated null results presented in similar CBM/tDCS trials and suggest that this combination, at least with anodal stimulation over dorsolateral or inferior frontal sites, may have limited utility to reduce drinking. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

alcohol use disorder; cognitive bias modification; implicit bias; transcranial direct current stimulation