Eskandari Z, Dadashi M, Mostafavi H, Armani Kia A, Pirzeh R. Comparing the Efficacy of Anodal, Cathodal, and Sham Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor and Psychological Symptoms in Opioid-addicted Patients. BCN 2019; 10 (6) :641-650
URL:
http://bcn.iums.ac.ir/article-1-1431-en.html
1- Department of Clinical Psychology and Addiction Studies, Faculty of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
2- Department of Clinical Psychology, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Faculty of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
3- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
4- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
Abstract:
Introduction: Addiction to opioids is a serious problem and concern in any nation today. Unfortunately, the rate of taking these drugs and addiction to them has drastically increased. This research aimed at the study of the degree of the BDNF serum level, reducing depression, stress and also studied the diminishing the craving by means of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in opioid abusing patients.
Method: The research method was a quasi-experimental design with a pre-post test administered on three groups. The statistical population included all addicted people to opioids in Zanjan. A sample of 30 patients was selected based on the DSM-5 diagnosing criteria through available sampling and then they were randomly placed into three groups of 10 people. After all the participants knowingly filled out the consent forms before performing an intervention, they were evaluated by ELISA technique to measure the serum level of BDNF, then a desires for drugs questionnaire (DDQ), depression, anxiety and stress scale (DASS) were administered. Then, for 10 sessions of 20 minutes, tDCS for the three groups, namely Group A (L-DLPFC) anodal left/catodal right, group B( R-DLPFC) anodal right/cathodal left, and group C (sham-tDCS) were administered. After the treatment, all the participants were reevaluated and then the data were analyzed by Kolmogorov- Smirnov test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Bonfreoni test.
Results: The results showed that stimulating the DLPFC led to a significant change in growing the level of BDNF (P= .031) and lowering the degree of depression (p= .018), anxiety (p= .001), stress (p= .012) and decreased the level of craving (p= .001) in opioid addicted patients. Moreover, the pair comparison indicated that group B showed a significant improvement versus group C.
Conclusion: The findings of this research suggest that TDCS is an effective and a complementary treatment, beside the common treatments of opioid abusing patients.
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● Stimulating the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex can significantly increase the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and decrease the symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and craving.
● The stimulation of the right frontal area can increase BDNF serum levels.
● The stimulation of bilateral brain regions can reduce the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and craving.
Plain Language Summary
Opioid addiction is one of the main concerns of societies and is considered a cerebral chronic relapsing disease. In spite of its negative consequences, opioid addiction is wildly common. The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) increases the growth, survival, and the health of different neurons. It is considered an essential adjusting factor of brain flexibility. Drug taking changes the expression of endogenous BDNF neuron circuits responsible for the addictive behaviors. According to the studies, the higher expression of BDNF can neutralize the effects of taking opioids. This research aimed to study the effectiveness of stimulating the DLPFC with two protocols of stimulating anodal right/cathodal left and sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) area to increase the BDNF and reduce the level of depression, anxiety, stress, and craving for drug taking. Thirty opioid-addicted patients were selected by sampling through the web and were divided into 3 groups (10 individuals in each group). Group A received the anodal right/cathodal left stimulation, group B anodal left/cathodal right stimulation, and group C received the sham stimulating. Stimulating the DLPFC utilizing two real and active protocols had the same effects and there was no significant difference between them, but group B (anodal right/cathodal left) versus group C (sham-tDCS) could significantly increase the level of the BDNF and decrease the craving. Therefore, brain-stimulating can be considered an alternative for the treatment of opioid-addicted patients. The BDNF can be used as a biomarker responding to the treatment.
Type of Study:
Original |
Subject:
Cellular and molecular Neuroscience Received: 2019/02/16 | Accepted: 2019/08/31 | Published: 2019/11/1