Known as non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS), the treatment can be performed using electrodes that deliver a low-intensity current through the scalp or a metal coil that sends magnetic pulses through the brain.
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), respectively, are two methods currently being explored as potential treatments for substance use disorders, depression, and other mental health problems.
Lead author Dr Benjamin Petit says: “Although our review appears modest, with only seven included studies, a low level of confidence, and substantial between-study variability, the results appear robust and we feel confident in suggesting that NIBS it is a technique of interest for both short-term smoking cessation and sustained smoking cessation. In addition, several currently ongoing scientific trials in this particular field were identified. In the near future, NIBS could be recognized as a promising new option to help people who want to quit smoking.”
The team searched several scientific databases for randomized controlled trials of NIBS in adult smokers seeking to quit, with a follow-up of more than four weeks, and then combined the results to measure the effect on smoking cessation.
Seven studies were included, with a total of 699 patients. In all included studies, control groups received sham NIBS.
Pooling the seven included studies, the hazard ratio for sustained abstinence from any form of NIBS relative to sham niBS was 2.39, meaning that smokers who received NIBS were 2.39 times more likely to abstain from long-term smoking than smokers who received sham NIBS.
The neurophysiology of smoking, and addiction in general, remains poorly understood, although research suggests that the urge to smoke may be at least partially mediated by activation of a brain region called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
“The neurophysiological mechanisms leading to the observed therapeutic effect need to be further explored to understand the determinants in the efficacy of NIBS,” the authors clarify in the conclusion.
Source: Ambito
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