Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27038632›Full record

Trial reportJournal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996)2016

Transcranial direct current stimulation of the prefrontal cortex reduces cue-reactivity in alcohol-dependent patients.

Katharina Wietschorke, Julian Lippold, Christian Jacob, Thomas Polak, Martin J Herrmann

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
22citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

22 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. A systematic review and meta-analysis of neuromodulation therapies for substance use disorders.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2024
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Katharina WietschorkeDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Clinic Würzburg, University of Würzburg, Füchsleinstr. 15, 97080, Würzburg, Germany.
Julian LippoldDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Clinic Würzburg, University of Würzburg, Füchsleinstr. 15, 97080, Würzburg, Germany.
Christian JacobDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Clinic Würzburg, University of Würzburg, Füchsleinstr. 15, 97080, Würzburg, Germany.
Thomas PolakDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Clinic Würzburg, University of Würzburg, Füchsleinstr. 15, 97080, Würzburg, Germany.
Martin J HerrmannDepartment of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Clinic Würzburg, University of Würzburg, Füchsleinstr. 15, 97080, Würzburg, Germany. Herrmann_M@klinik.uni-wuerzburg.de.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Alcohol craving has been shown to be an important factor for relapses in alcohol-dependent patients. Furthermore, brain activity in reward-related areas in response to alcohol-related cues is positively related to the amount of post-relapse alcohol consumption. On the other hand, it has been shown that cue-exposure based extinction training (CET) leads to larger decrease of striatal and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dLPFC) cue-induced activation compared to standard clinical day-care treatment, but the effect sizes are relatively small. The question of this study was, whether it is possible to change cue-reactivity and subjective craving by applying bilateral prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). We stimulated 30 detoxified alcohol-dependent patients (50 % with a sham and 50 % with left cathodal/right anodal stimulation) and presented emotional as well as alcohol-related pictures. We measured the emotional startle modulation and found significantly increased startle amplitudes in the verum stimulation condition for alcohol-related cues, indicating a more negative processing of this cues in alcohol-dependent patients after verum tDCS stimulation. Additionally we found tendencies for stronger reduction in subjective craving in verum-stimulated patients. Therefore our study underscores the positive value of DCS in reducing craving and might help to improve the understanding and therapy of alcohol dependence.

Indexed as

CuesAdultAlcoholismCravingDouble-Blind MethodElectromyographyEmotionsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedOutcome Assessment, Health CarePrefrontal CortexTranscranial Direct Current StimulationVisual Analog ScaleCravingEmotional-startleNon-invasive brain stimulationtDCS

Identifiers

PMID27038632

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.