10 Days of Theta Burst Stimulation as a Tool to Treat Cocaine Dependence

Cocaine dependence is a particularly difficult substance use disorder to treat. There is currently a lot of scientific inertia focused on the development of novel, neural circuit based strategies for intervention. A prior NARC funded pilot project in non-treatment seeking cocaine users demonstrated that a single session of medial prefrontal cortex theta burst stimulation (MPFC cTBS) decreases baseline frontal-striatal activity in limbic regions and decreases neural responses to cocaine uses. The effects of a single session however, erode over the first few hours after treatment. Sustainable effects require multiple days of treatment. GOAL: The next steps in pursuing this as a novel treatment are to 1) apply it to treatment-engaged patients and 2) determine whether several sessions of cTBS will produce sustainable and clinically-meaningful changes in cocaine use among these patients.

DESIGN: Treatment-engaged cocaine users and heavy alcohol users will be randomized to receive 10 sessions of real or sham LTD-like MPFC cTBS. This will be achieved by leveraging our existing partnership with the MUSC Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs (CDAP) and the Veterans Administration Substance Abuse Treatment Center Program (SATC) - which both provide a 4 week intensive outpatient treatment program. MPFC cTBS will be given during weeks 2 and 3 of the program. Functional MRI data and clinical assessments will be acquired during weeks 1, 4, and at participant's 1 month and 2 month Accountability/Continuity visits. Hypothesis: real cTBS treatment will enhance clinical outcomes (Aim 1 - including retention rates, number of clean urine drug screens during CDAP treatment, relapse rates at 1 and 2 months) and will produce a sustainable decrease in neural reactivity to cocaine cues (Aim 2 - week 1 versus week 4, 1 month & 2 month follow ups).

Inclusion criteria

• Individuals from 21-65 years old currently enrolled in an intensive outpatient treatment program.

Exclusion criteria

• Participants will be excluded if they are not between 21-65 years old, have current or prior dependence (DSM-IV, because a DSM-V version of the SCID is not yet available) on prescription or psychoactive drugs other than cocaine, alcohol, or nicotine but including marijuana; past 6 month abuse of any prescription or psychoactive drugs excluding cocaine, marijuana, alcohol or nicotine, lifetime history of head injury with loss of consciousness, being pregnant or breast feeding, unstable medical illness (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, myocardial infarction), presence of ferromagnetic metal in their body, history of seizures. Additionally, to mitigate any potential risk of seizures. As mentioned above, all participants will receive the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment of Alcohol (CIWAar) assessment before each TMS visit. Individuals with a CIWA score >5 will be excused from the study. All individuals with a history of medical detoxification or hospitalization for AUD (per the Assessments listed above), self-reported alcohol withdrawal seizures, or delirium tremens will be excluded from the study.