Combining acute alcohol administration with accelerated prefrontal theta burst stimulation: A pilot study of...

Acute alcohol intoxication impairs inhibitory control. Intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex may alter executive control, but little is known about whether accelerated iTBS can be combined with controlled alcohol administration.

This double-blind, sham-controlled pilot study evaluated feasibility and preliminary behavioral effects of accelerated left prefrontal iTBS during acute alcohol intoxication in healthy young adults (N = 10). Participants completed a Cued Go/No-Go task at baseline and near peak breath alcohol concentration after active or sham iTBS delivered in two bouts separated by 30 min.

All participants in the analytic sample completed both stimulation conditions without serious adverse events or stimulation-related discontinuations. Alcohol increased inhibitory failures relative to baseline. Preliminary analyses suggested greater alcohol-induced increases in inhibition failures following active versus sham iTBS.

Accelerated prefrontal iTBS can be implemented during controlled acute alcohol intoxication in a laboratory setting. Although the behavioral findings are not conclusive, they are hypothesis-generating and underscore the need to evaluate state-dependent neuromodulation effects in larger, balanced studies.