Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Cigarette Addiction

Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation of the Prefrontal Cortex on Cigarette Smoking

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT02146014

Enrollment

Registered

2014-05-23

Start date

2010-05-31

Completion date

2015-12-31

Last updated

2016-06-01

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Addiction

Keywords

cigarette smoking, smoking

Brief summary

Tobacco addiction is treatable with behavioral and pharmacological means, but results are often less than optimal. Transcranial direct current stimulation is a new non-invasive technique that applies weak electrical currents through the skull and has been shown to alter the excitability of certain brain areas. It is currently being tried in disorders where there is abnormal brain excitability, such as epilepsy and depression. A few studies have also been able to diminish drug craving, suggesting that brain excitability might also be altered in drug addiction. This study aims at non-invasively changing the excitability of certain brain areas-a procedure called neuromodulation- in order to help smokers quit smoking more easily.

Interventions

OTHERPlacebo

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a procedure that uses a small battery-driven unit to deliver weak electrical currents (1-2 mA) through the intact scalp. The procedure is painless and is thought to modulate the excitability of the underlying cerebral tissue for hours or days after sessions. In the placebo group the current will be off.

DEVICETranscranial Direct Current Stimulation

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 70 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* smokers

Exclusion criteria

* use of psychoactive drugs * age above 70

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Change in Visual Analogue Scale of Cigarette Craving	Before and 7 days after treatment

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Change in Visual Analogue Scale of Motivation to Quit Smoking	Before and 7 days after intervention

Countries

Brazil

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 24, 2026