Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation is a New Non-invasive Treatment for Drug Addiction
by Brooke Ostrander
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Master of Biomedical Sciences 2023
Mentor:
Dr. Brian Piper, Ph.D.
Drug
misuse and dependence are worldwide problems for people and societies for many
reasons. Using addictive substances, like alcohol, nicotine, opioids, meth, and cocaine, causes
the brain to change. With these changes, the brain continues to want more of the drug and
makes it hard to stop using them because of the cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Currently,
the common treatments include medications, counseling, and over-the-counter products,
varying by the drug. Despite this, many people still struggle to continue not using drugs and fail
to quit many times. Usually, this is due to the brain changes that get the person addicted in the first place.
reasons. Using addictive substances, like alcohol, nicotine, opioids, meth, and cocaine, causes
the brain to change. With these changes, the brain continues to want more of the drug and
makes it hard to stop using them because of the cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Currently,
the common treatments include medications, counseling, and over-the-counter products,
varying by the drug. Despite this, many people still struggle to continue not using drugs and fail
to quit many times. Usually, this is due to the brain changes that get the person addicted in the first place.
Neuromodulation devices are devices that stimulate your nerves using electrical
impulses in specific areas of the brain without surgically inserting anything
into the skin or body. This technology has been looked at as a form of support
for patients wanting to get treated for
substance addictions, either with or without medication and other common quitting methods.
TMS is a neuromodulation device that uses magnetic fields and electrical stimulation to target
areas in the brain that have to do with addiction, self-regulation, and reward. I conducted a
literature review by reading and comparing 24 studies that focused on using TMS to treat
patients that had cravings and trouble quitting alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, meth, or opioid misuse.
These investigations present data that link TMS treatment to lower cravings after stopping drug use without producing major side effects. Many of the studies used a placebo TMS to make
sure the results were reliable and comparable.
substance addictions, either with or without medication and other common quitting methods.
TMS is a neuromodulation device that uses magnetic fields and electrical stimulation to target
areas in the brain that have to do with addiction, self-regulation, and reward. I conducted a
literature review by reading and comparing 24 studies that focused on using TMS to treat
patients that had cravings and trouble quitting alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, meth, or opioid misuse.
These investigations present data that link TMS treatment to lower cravings after stopping drug use without producing major side effects. Many of the studies used a placebo TMS to make
sure the results were reliable and comparable.
All
research studies have weaknesses in their design or how the research was
carried
out that could have influenced the results. Getting a lot of subjects for this type of treatment
research can be difficult. This is because addictive drugs are involved, the study may be long,
and funding is hard to obtain for the study. Because of this, many of the studies with lower
sample sizes could possibly have false negatives in their results. One of the best techniques
scientists do is to keep themselves and their participants from knowing if they’re giving or
receiving the active or placebo treatment. However, some studies looked at for this project did
not do that. Instead, their experimenters knew if each person was receiving real or fake
treatment. Only the subjects did not know if they were getting the real or fake treatment, so it’s
possible unfairness may exist on the researcher’s part, which could skew the study outcomes. If
a TMS study did or does not use a control group, there is also the risk of unreliable data. Also,
follow-up with the participants for their craving measurements and using status was not done in
several studies. Without follow-up, we won’t be able to figure out a plan for a successful
treatment, depending on the treatment. It’s possible the level of a patient’s addiction severity
and length of not using after treatment relates to the successful results. These explanations and
original measurements for addiction categories and other related factors will need to continue to
be considered. A big weakness with many of the protocols reviewed is the lack of
consistency between all the studies. This makes it hard to compare all investigations in this area
with each other for overall conclusions about this topic. Overall, the studies’ weaknesses in this
field will need to have more clear goals, especially more confident and established methods.
This will give more honest results among the studies before approving the use of TMS for nicotine, alcohol, opioid, cocaine, and meth substance addiction treatment medically.
out that could have influenced the results. Getting a lot of subjects for this type of treatment
research can be difficult. This is because addictive drugs are involved, the study may be long,
and funding is hard to obtain for the study. Because of this, many of the studies with lower
sample sizes could possibly have false negatives in their results. One of the best techniques
scientists do is to keep themselves and their participants from knowing if they’re giving or
receiving the active or placebo treatment. However, some studies looked at for this project did
not do that. Instead, their experimenters knew if each person was receiving real or fake
treatment. Only the subjects did not know if they were getting the real or fake treatment, so it’s
possible unfairness may exist on the researcher’s part, which could skew the study outcomes. If
a TMS study did or does not use a control group, there is also the risk of unreliable data. Also,
follow-up with the participants for their craving measurements and using status was not done in
several studies. Without follow-up, we won’t be able to figure out a plan for a successful
treatment, depending on the treatment. It’s possible the level of a patient’s addiction severity
and length of not using after treatment relates to the successful results. These explanations and
original measurements for addiction categories and other related factors will need to continue to
be considered. A big weakness with many of the protocols reviewed is the lack of
consistency between all the studies. This makes it hard to compare all investigations in this area
with each other for overall conclusions about this topic. Overall, the studies’ weaknesses in this
field will need to have more clear goals, especially more confident and established methods.
This will give more honest results among the studies before approving the use of TMS for nicotine, alcohol, opioid, cocaine, and meth substance addiction treatment medically.
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