New Therapeutic Strategies for Inhibitory Control in Alcoholism

New Therapeutic Strategies for Inhibitory Control Improvement of Alcohol-dependent Patients

This experimental research studies the efficacy of two different treatments for inhibitory control improvement in alcohol-dependent individuals, one consisting of Retrieval-Extinction Learning ( alcohol AAT Task) and the other consisting in rTMS of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

The main purpose of this study is to demonstrate the efficacy of two different treatments for inhibitory control improvement (measured by the modified Stop signal task): a behavioral treatment based on Retrieval-Extinction Learning, through the AAT (Alcohol Approach Avoiding Task) and a treatment based on the neuromodulation of prefrontal cortex through the rTMS (repetitive transcraneal magnetic stimulation) technique. To carry out this study, 105 alcoholic patients will be compared for clinical variables (abstinence/relapses), self-informed (UPPS) and behvavioral impulsivity (Stop signal task), along with biological measures for polymorphism determinations. Alcohol-dependent individuals will be divided into 4 groups of study (1:1 proportion for Retrieval-Extinction Learning with AAT and 2:1 (double for the effective technique comparing to placebo/control) for rTMS): Group 1 (N=30): exposure to an alcohol-related video followed by AAT; Group 2 (N=30): neutral-content video followed by AAT; Group 4 (30): active stimulation rTMS (10 Hz) ; Group 4 (N=15): placebo stimulation SAM.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Men and women aged between 18 and 50 years old.
• A minimum of 28 days of abstinence
• Consent to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Subjects with other substance dependence ( with the exception of tobacco)
• Subjects with a history of brain injury or neurological diseases
• Denial for study participation
• Non-spanish speakers
• rTMS selected participants with be assed in order to discard epilepsy, presence for metallic elements and CNS valves