Sorkhou, Maryam and Stogios, Nicolette and Sayrafizadeh, Negar and Hahn, Margaret K and Agarwal, Sri Mahavir and George, Tony P (2022) Non-invasive neuromodulation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to reduce craving in alcohol use disorder: a meta-analysis. Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, 4, 100076. doi: 10.1016/j.dadr.2022.100076.
External website: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC99488...
INTRODUCTION: While several pharmacological and behavioral treatments are available for alcohol use disorder (AUD), they may not be effective for all patients. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rTMS and tDCS for craving in AUD.
METHODS: EMBASE, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, and PubMed databases were searched for original, peer-reviewed research articles in the English language published between January 2000 and January 2022. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting changes in alcohol craving among patients with AUD were selected. Random-effects meta-analysis was employed to pool data.
RESULTS: Changes in alcohol craving were extracted from 15 RCTs. Six studies assessed the efficacy of rTMS while nine studies examined tDCS. Results demonstrated that in comparison to sham stimulation, active rTMS to the DLPFC yields small but significant reductions in alcohol craving (standardized mean difference [SMD] = -0.27, = .03). However, DLPFC stimulation via tDCS was not superior to sham stimulation in producing changes in alcohol craving (SMD = -0.08, = .59).
CONCLUSIONS: Our meta-analysis suggests that rTMS may be superior to tDCS in reducing alcohol craving in patients with AUD. However, additional research is needed to identify optimal stimulation parameters for both non-invasive neuromodulatory techniques in AUD.
E Concepts in biomedical areas > Nervous system physiology (brain, neural)
G Health and disease > Substance use disorder (addiction) > Alcohol use disorder
G Health and disease > Substance use disorder (addiction) > Alcohol use disorder > Alcohol withdrawal / craving
VA Geographic area > International
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