Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Effective Stimulant to Combat Cocaine Cravings When It Uses High-Frequency Pulses

Cocaine addiction or cocaine use disorder is marked by an uncontrollable desire to consume cocaine. However, there's a promising therapy to address the problem.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation To Treat Cocaine Addiction

At present, a combination of behavioral therapies, support groups, and medicine is used in traditional treatments for cocaine addiction to reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms. However, these medicines' lack of complete effectiveness frequently prompts researchers to look into alternative therapy options.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is among the most promising new approaches to treating cocaine addiction. A non-invasive method called transcranial magnetic stimulation stimulates brain nerve cells with magnetic fields. It has gained popularity as a depression treatment, and several studies have looked at its ability to cure cocaine addiction.

To evaluate the previous findings and determine the efficacy of magnetic transcranial stimulation in treating cocaine addiction, study author Andrea Amerio and her colleagues carried out a systematic evaluation of these investigations in a new study.

They used a variety of phrases associated with cocaine usage, craving, dependence, and transcranial magnetic stimulation to find the most widely used electronic databases of scientific literature. They searched for papers that would have been released by Nov. 30, 2022. The review concentrated on trials with persons diagnosed with cocaine use disorder up to 65 years of age.

The studies had to have at least two treatment groups and compare the effectiveness of rTMS to conventional treatments or a sham. The results showed that the most successful therapies targeted the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, using high-frequency pulses of at least 5 Hz, and were given across several sessions.

These therapies were more successful than those that used continuous theta burst stimulation patterns, which imitate the theta rhythm of the brain because they used repeating pulses at a consistent frequency.

When compared to groups receiving low-frequency pulse treatments and those receiving sham treatments, individuals in the groups receiving these treatments tended to exhibit a marked decline in cocaine cravings. In comparison to control groups, these therapies also appeared to significantly lessen participants' propensity to behave hastily when experiencing intensely negative emotions.

Overall, rTMS was well tolerated, and there were no significant adverse events between the active and sham groups.

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What Makes Cocaine Addicting?

Native to South America, the coca plant yields leaves that are used to make cocaine, a potent stimulant narcotic. Due to its stimulating and euphoric effects, many people take it recreationally, even though it is illegal almost everywhere.

When using this medication, one experiences intense enjoyment, enhanced vitality, and greater attentiveness. You can inject, smoke, or snort cocaine. But because of its fleeting effects, users must use it repeatedly to get the desired high. Over time, this results in a cocaine addiction.

Cocaine is highly addictive because it gives one a "high." When cocaine is used repeatedly, dopamine accumulates in the brain, resulting in pleasurable experiences.

Additionally, because cocaine acts quickly, users may experience an increase in confidence. However, cocaine addiction has developed rapidly.

Cocaine frequently produces a short-lived but highly potent high. After sniffing cocaine, the effects usually take 5 to 30 minutes to become apparent, and they typically continue for 20 to 30 minutes.

When the above-mentioned "positive" effects of cocaine wear off, after about half an hour, the individual may feel compelled to take more cocaine to relive the pleasurable experience as quickly as possible because the high is so strong.

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