Reconsolidation Intervention Of Methamphetamine Addiction Memory Using Theta-Burst Stimulation Combined With Virtual Reality Technology

Objective: Methamphetamine addiction is a chronic relapsing brain disease.As drug use increases,drug-related cues(CS)are repeatedly matched with drug rewards(US),generating automated connections that consolidate and form addictive memories.This episodic memory associated with the drug can drive cravings in the addict,which can lead to drug use or relapse.Therefore,the intervention of addictive memory becomes the key and purpose of methamphetamine addiction intervention.Theta-burst stimulation(TBS),as a non-invasive brain stimulation technique,is a potential clinical intervention method for drug addiction.TBS can directly target the brain region associated with addiction memory,regulate the neuroplasticity of the target,and thus renew addiction memory.This paper explores the intervention effect of TBS on methamphetamine addiction.Specifically,by using virtual reality(VR)cues to induce memory reconsolidation stage,we use TBS to regulate the activity of brain regions related to addiction memory in the time window of memory instability,reduce the connection strength of related circuits,reduce/block the reward value of methamphetamine cues and thus reduce the cue-induced craving.Methods: Twenty-five methamphetamine addicts were recruited and randomly divided into two groups: an experimental group of 12 and a control group of 13.The experimental group received TBS true stimulation twice.Control subjects received TBS pseudo-stimulation(without).Basic information(including age,education,family status,smoking and alcohol use,and accumulated drug use history)was collected before treatment.Before and after the intervention,the subjects’ mood state,anxiety,depression and sleep state were measured by scale.The 0-100 visual scoring method nested into the VR scene was used to score before and after the intervention.At the same time,the heart rate and EEG data of the subjects in the VR scene were collected,and the differences of subjective craving score,physiological and neuropsychological indexes between the TBS treatment group and the control group before and after treatment were compared.Results: In the experimental group treated with TBS and memory reconsolidation intervention technique,the beta and gamma frequencies of the prefrontal EEG band decreased,while in the control group,the beta and gamma frequencies of the EEG band increased instead of decreasing after pseudo stimulation.Compared with the subjective desire self-score of the experimental group in the pre-test,the desire self-score of the first post-test(I)after the intervention showed a downward trend.At the same time,compared with the experimental group subjects’ heart rate measured before the VR cue scene,the experimental group subjects’ heart rate measured after the VR cue scene I showed a downward trend.In addition,we analyzed the scores of pre-test and post-test scales,and only the experimental group had marginal significant differences in pre-test and post-test PSQI scores,while the control group had no significant differences,and scores of other scales showed a downward trend after the intervention.Conclusion: The above results show that the combination of memory reconsolidation intervention technology and TBS stimulation can not only reduce the subjective craving score and heart rate in cue scenes of methamphetamine addicts,improve the EEG characteristics in cue scenes,but also improve the sleep and mood closely related to relapse.