Evaluating the Effect of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Circuit Training on Drug Craving, Impulsivity, and Risky Decision-Making in Females with Drug Dependency during Rehabilitation Period

Evaluating the Effect of Exercise Training and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Drug Craving, Impulsivity, Risky Decision-making, Pleasure Sensation, and Arousal in Females with Drug Dependency

A within-subject, counterbalanced by the use of Latin Square, and double-blind study. 16 subjects will be exposed to 4 different conditions.

This study will be conducted at Razi University, Kermanshah. After selecting the subjects and familiarization, each subject will be exposed to 4 different conditions of the combination of exercise training and brain stimulation in a random order. Study variables will be measured before and after training and brain stimulation.

Inclusion: Aged between 18 to 50 years Resident of Kermanshah Not taking drugs for 2 to 12 months Being right handed History of drug abuse and being in the phase of rehabilitation Absence of physical drug dependency (participating in detoxification) Getting the certification of no prohibition of participating in the exercise training program from a specialist Exclusion: History of seizures, epilepsy, or other neurological diseases Existence of implantable devices or pacemakers in the body Tobacco and alcohol consumption Existence of ant musculoskeletal disorders Participation in regular exercise training program in last 6 months

In this within-subject and counterbalanced study, participants will be exposed to 4 different conditions including 1) exercise+anodal brain stimulation, 2) exercise+ sham stimulation, 3) anodal brain stimulation, and 4) sham stimulation for 20 minutes and 2 milliamperes intensity.

Changes in drug craving, impulsivity, risky decision-making, pleasure sensation, and arousal

In this study, the order of subjects' exposure to 4 different conditions will be randomized by the Latin Squares method. To do so, first, using the www.random.org website, a number between 1 and 16 will be randomly allocated to each subject as an identification code. Then, the English letters A, B, C, and D will be assigned to the four intervention conditions and a Latin Square will be created. In this case, a Latin square with four rows and four columns is created. Finally, participants number 1 to 4 will be placed in the sequence of the first row, participants number 5 to 8 will be placed in the sequence of the second row, participants number 9 to 12 will be placed in the sequence of the third row and, participants number 13 to 16 will be placed in the sequence of the fourth row.

In this double-blind study, the investigator and the participants will be blinded to the type of transcranial electrical stimulation used in the four experimental conditions. In the current study, the Neurostim stimulation device will be used to induce direct current electrical stimulation in two types including 1) anodal and 2) sham in four experimental conditions. For this purpose, an individual outside the research team who is thoroughly familiar with using the brain stimulation device will be responsible for applying the stimulation in experimental sessions. In order to blind the participants, after they sit on a special chair, the stimulating device is hidden from their view and is completely covered by a cover, and the electrodes are placed on the desired areas by the examiner. In order to blind the researcher, the induction of brain stimulation will be done without the presence of the researcher and the relevant information will be available to the same person outside the research team. Also, in the sham stimulation mode, according to standard protocols, the active current is induced on the head for 30 seconds to induce the same sensation as the active stimulation mode. Then the current is cut off and the stimulation is deactivated, but the electrodes will remain on the head until the end of the same time as the anodal stimulation.

All data are shared after the de-identification of the participants

3 months after publication

All individuals upon formal request

Data sharing requests are accepted for any purposes

To obtain any data/documents, please send an e-mail to Ehsan Amiri, a faculty member at Razi University, through the following e-mail address: e.amiri@razi.ac.ir

Upon formal request, mentioning due reasons, and providing full personality details, data will be sent after 72 h via e-mail