Trial reportBrain stimulation
Frontal tDCS reduces alcohol relapse rates by increasing connections from left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to addiction networks.
Trial report in Brain stimulation. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Substance Use Disorder Treatment Outcomes: Methodological Overview of Metrics and Criteria.International journal of methods in psychiatric research · 2025Pooled it
- tDCS-enhanced cognitive training improves attention and alters connectivity in control and somatomotor networks: A triple blind study.NeuroImage · 2024Trial
- Relapse in alcohol dependence is characterized by disrupted modular brain network organization.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2026Article
- Treatment of alcohol use disorder via magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound ablation surgery.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2026Article
- Examining Causal Pathways to Suicidal Ideation and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study.Suicide & life-threatening behavior · 2025Article
- Sex differences in the effects of 10 Hz and 40 Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation on spatial cognition in mice.Biology of sex differences · 2025Article
- Neurobiological Mechanisms of Action of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs)-A Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- The Algorithmic Agent Perspective and Computational Neuropsychiatry: From Etiology to Advanced Therapy in Major Depressive Disorder.Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Article
- Fast Scalable and Accurate Discovery of DAGs Using the Best Order Score Search and Grow-Shrink Trees.Advances in neural information processing systems · 2023Article
- A Computational Framework for EEG Causal Oscillatory Connectivity.Proceedings of machine learning research · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundBrain-based interventions are needed to address persistent relapse in alcohol use disorder (AUD). Neuroimaging evidence suggests higher frontal connectivity as well as higher within-network connectivity of theoretically defined addiction networks are associated with reduced relapse rates and extended abstinence during follow-up periods.
objective/Hypothesis: A longitudinal randomized double-blind sham-controlled clinical trial investigated whether a non-invasive neuromodulation intervention delivered during early abstinence can (i) modulate connectivity of addiction networks supporting abstinence and (ii) improve relapse rates. HYPOTHESES: Active transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) will (i) increase connectivity of addiction networks known to support abstinence and (ii) reduce relapse rates.
methodsShort-term abstinent AUD participants (n = 60) were assigned to 5 days of either active tDCS or sham during cognitive training. Causal discovery analysis (CDA) examined the directional influence from left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (LDLPFC, stimulation site) to addiction networks that support abstinence.
resultsActive tDCS had an effect on the average strength of CDA-determined connectivity from LDLPFC to the incentive salience and negative emotionality addiction networks - increasing in the active tDCS group only. Active tDCS had an effect on relapse rates following the intervention, with lower probability of relapse in the active tDCS vs. sham. Active tDCS showed an unexpected sex-dependent effect on relapse rates.
conclusionOur results suggest that LDLPFC stimulation delivered during early abstinence has an effect on addiction networks supporting abstinence and on relapse rates. The unexpected sex-dependent neuromodulation effects need to be further examined in larger clinical trials.
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Registered trials
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.