Effects of psychoeducation combined with transcranial direct current stimulation on reducing cigarette craving and consumption in male smokers.

ABSTRACT

Psychoeducation (PE) has been widely used in smoking interventions, but its long-term effects are limited. Recent studies have reported that, in some fields, a combination of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and cognitive training (e.g., working memory tasks) may improve cognitive outcomes; thus, we aimed to investigate whether such a combined intervention has a better effect than a PE intervention for reducing smoking cravings and cigarette consumption. In Exp. 1, 19 male smokers received four types of interventions at one-week intervals. In each session, participants were presented with audio PE (or control) while receiving 2-mA active (or sham) tDCS of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). In Exp. 2, 48 male smokers were randomized into four experimental groups (PE + Active, Control + Active, PE + Sham, or Control + Sham). Each participant received one type of five-day intervention (i.e., watching a five-minute PE/Control video twice while receiving 2-mA active/sham tDCS) and was followed up for one week. The results showed (a) an enhancement effect of tDCS on PE's ability to reduce cigarette consumption; (b) that repeated PE has a cumulative effect on reducing both craving and cigarette consumption during the intervention period; and (c) that, compared with PE alone, PE combined with tDCS is capable of helping participants maintain a low intake of cigarettes over one week. These findings suggest that repeated interventions of PE combined with tDCS may be effective in reducing smoking consumption and that further studies are warranted to confirm its application.