Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) for Treatment of Cocaine Use Disorder
Cognitively-enhanced tDCS of the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex to Reduce Craving in Cocaine Addiction
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
120 participants
Feb 25, 2026
INTERVENTIONAL
Conditions
Summary
The researchers will test whether cognitively enhanced transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex can reduce craving in inpatients with cocaine use disorder. Neuroimaging before and after stimulation will establish the neural correlates of recovery and allow predictions of outcomes, which will be assessed throughout the study and one month after its completion. Results could pave the way towards development of a new self-administered intervention to reduce craving when it is needed the most, enhancing recovery real-time and in the natural environment in people with cocaine addiction as generalizable to other drugs of abuse and other disorders of self-control.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria4
- Ability to understand and give informed consent
- Men and women 18-60 years of age.
- For women of childbearing potential, current use of a medically acceptable form of birth control
- DSM-5 diagnosis of stimulant use disorder with crack/cocaine as the drug of choice
Exclusion Criteria6
- Lifetime diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, bipolar I disorder, or delusional disorder as confirmed by the MINI or autism spectrum disorder as confirmed by medical history at the screening visit
- Current clinically significant or unstable medical conditions, including metabolic, endocrinological, oncological or autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases common in people with substance use disorders including Hepatitis B and C or HIV/AIDS; use of medications deemed exclusionary by the study team; or any laboratory value outside the reference range that the senior investigator team considers to be of clinical relevance
- Head trauma with loss of consciousness (\>30 min)
- History of neurological or developmental disease of central origin including stroke, brain tumor or seizures, encompassing those symptoms associated with periods of drug withdrawal or abstinence
- Metal implants or devices that may be impacted by the electrical stimulation and additional MR contraindications
- Women of childbearing potential must use a medically acceptable birth control method during the study and will be asked to take a pregnancy urine test before exposure to tDCS (or MRI)
Interested in this trial?
Get notified about updates and connect with the research team.
Interventions
Participants will have two electrodes applied (one anode, one cathode) administering active (real) or sham (placebo, not real) tDCS stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Stimulation will last 20 minutes per day, three days per week, for 5 weeks
Cognitive reappraisal of drug cues during stimulation sessions
Locations(1)
View Full Details on ClinicalTrials.gov
For the most up-to-date information, visit the official listing.
NCT07318480