mPFC Theta Burst Stimulation as a Treatment Tool for Alcohol Use Disorder: Effects on Drinking and Incentive Salience
SUMMARY With advances in opto-/chemo-genetic stimulation techniques, preclinical studies have demonstrated that activity in frontal-striatal neural circuits has a causal influence on heavy alcohol drinking and relapse-like behavior. Similar findings using modern fMRI imaging techniques in humans have confirmed some of these findings. Clinically, however, we have not yet translated this research into a neural circuit based therapeutic technique for patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). The long term goal of our multidisciplinary research team is to determine the optimal parameters through which non-invasive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can be used to improve alcohol drinking outcomes (abstinence, heavy drinking days) among individuals seeking behavioral treatment for AUD. Building on a foundation of several TMS brain target identification studies and a small double-blinded clinical trial in treatment-engaged AUD patients performed by our group in the Charleston Alcohol Re