Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Medical School, Université Laval, CERVO Brain Research Center, Centre intégré universitaire en santé et services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, 2325 rue de l'Université, Quebec City, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.
Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Medical School, Université Laval, CERVO Brain Research Center, Centre intégré universitaire en santé et services sociaux de la Capitale-Nationale, 2325 rue de l'Université, Quebec City, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2020 Sep 1;214:108152. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.108152. Epub 2020 Jul 2.
Tobacco use disorder (TUD) is characterized by the presence of an attentional bias (AB) towards smoking-related stimuli. We investigated whether combining an AB modification paradigm (ABM) with transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) applied over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) reduces the AB towards smoking-related stimuli, as well as craving level and impulsive choices.
In a sham-controlled, crossover preliminary study, 19 subjects with TUD received two stimulation arms: 1) active tACS (10 Hz, 2 mA, 30 min) combined with ABM and 2) sham tACS combined with ABM, in a randomized order, separated by one week. AB towards smoking cues during passive observation of smoking and neutral cues was assessed with an eye-tracking device and reactions times at a visual-probe task. Craving level was measured with the Questionnaire of Smoking Urges. Impulsive choices were assessed with the delay discounting task.
Active tACS combined with ABM reduced the amount of time spent looking at smoking-related pictures (p = 0.03), prevented the increase of self-reported desire to smoke (p = 0.026), and reduced the proportion of impulsive choices (p = 0.049), compared to sham tACS combined with ABM. No significant effects were reported on other craving dimensions and on AB based on reaction times.
These preliminary findings suggest that combining tACS with ABM may help smokers who wish to quit by reducing the desire to smoke, attention to smoking-cues, and impulsive decision-making.
烟草使用障碍（TUD）的特征是对与吸烟相关的刺激存在注意力偏向（AB）。我们研究了将 AB 修正范式（ABM）与经颅交流电刺激（tACS）相结合应用于背外侧前额叶皮层（DLPFC）是否会减少对与吸烟相关的刺激的 AB，以及渴望水平和冲动选择。
在一项假对照、交叉初步研究中，19 名 TUD 患者接受了两种刺激方案：1）主动 tACS（10 Hz，2 mA，30 分钟）与 ABM 相结合，2）假 tACS 与 ABM 相结合，以随机顺序进行，间隔一周。通过眼动追踪设备评估被动观察吸烟和中性线索时的吸烟线索的 AB，并在视觉探针任务中测量反应时间。使用吸烟冲动问卷测量渴望水平。使用延迟折扣任务评估冲动选择。
与假 tACS 结合 ABM 相比，主动 tACS 结合 ABM 可减少观看与吸烟相关图片的时间（p = 0.03），防止自我报告的吸烟欲望增加（p = 0.026），并减少冲动选择的比例（p = 0.049）。在其他渴望维度和基于反应时间的 AB 上未报告出显著影响。
这些初步发现表明，将 tACS 与 ABM 相结合可能有助于希望戒烟的吸烟者，通过减少吸烟欲望、对吸烟线索的注意力和冲动决策来实现。
