Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) and Smoking Cessation: Clinical and Neurocognitive Outcomes Among Turkish Adults

Our objective was to determine whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a beneficial smoking cessation technique in a sociocultural environment where cigarette smoking is highly prevalent. To our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the impact of tDCS on smoking behavior in Turkey.

Cigarette smokers with elevated scores on the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) were assigned to active-tDCS or sham-tDCS groups. Active-tDCS protocol consisted of anodal stimulation of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Moreover, executive function was evaluated prior to initiation of the tDCS intervention and following completion of a two-week stimulation series. Participants underwent one tDCS session per day, 5 days each week. We tested the hypothesis that cigarette smokers receiving active tDCS would demonstrate reduction in smoking rate following extended tDCS relative to smokers receiving sham stimulation. Post-treatment assessments were conducted weekly for one month after the final tDCS session.

Active- and sham-tDCS groups differed on two smoking-related variables at baseline (FTND score and cigarette consumption rate); therefore, analyses controlling for baseline differences were carried out and revealed that group differences did not reach significance for smoking-related variables or clinical measures. Moreover, active and sham groups did not differ at post-treatment assessment on tests of executive control, an unexpected outcome given the extensive literature on anodal DLPFC stimulation and augmented executive function.

Unfortunately, in the present modest study, tDCS was not an effective smoking cessation approach among adult smokers in this sociocultural milieu.