[Transcranial direct current stimulation in substance use disorders: an update]

Existing treatments for substance use disorders are often subject to drop-out or relapse. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) possibly has a positive effect on this problem.

To give an updated qualitative review of existing studies investigating the clinical effects of transcranial direct current stimulation for people with a substance use disorder, considering the many recently published studies.

Extensive literature search in the electronic database PubMed. We included 43 studies on top of the 7 studies already included in the previous review of Herremans and Baeken (2017) in this journal.

The majority of the studies showed a positive effect of transcranial direct current stimulation on clinical measures as craving and abstinence. However, there was little uniformity in used protocols.

Transcranial direct current stimulation can be an effective treatment for people with a substance use disorder. Optimal parameters need to be established to make the treatment maximally effective and adapted to the individual patient.