Effects Of TDCS Intervention On Drug Craving And Self-concept Of New Drug Addicts

Drug is a serious issue that has received worldwide attention.In order to reduce the harm of drugs,governments all over the world have made great efforts,and the academic community have been exploring this field all the time.However,previous studies on the mechanism of addiction were mostly confined to the physiological or psychological aspects of addiction,which separated the relationship between the two.Therefore,in this study,we combined the physiological structure and psychological basis of addiction,designed a safe and effective intervention program for addicts' drug craving and self-concept,and devoted oneself to explore the psychological mechanism and mechanism of influence on addiction at the same time.All the 72 participants in the study were from Ziyang compulsory isolated detoxification center in Sichuan Province,who were new drug addicts meeting the screening criteria.The evaluation tools used include the Obsessive Compulsive Drug Use Scale(OCDUS),an visual analog scale,the Self-esteem Scale(SES),the Wallance Self-Concept Scale and a self-made staged questionnaires.In Study one,direct intervention was aimed at drug craving of addicts.TDCS was used to stimulate the right side of DLPFC of 18 subjects with anodic stimulation(intensity of 2mA,15 min,a total of 10 times),and the subjects were asked to watch the drug-related pictures at the same time of tDCS intervention.The effect of experiment was evaluated by questionnaires.According to the pre-and post-test data of the OCDUS,the drug craving degree of the experimental group decreased significantly after intervention,while the data in the control group did not appear significant difference.After validating this type of intervention model,indirect intervention was aimed at the self-concept of addicts in study two.It was assumed that the level of individual self-concept could affect the drug craving degree.TDCS was used to stimulate the left side of DLPFC of 18 subjects with anodic stimulation(intensity of 2mA,15 min,a total of 10 times),and the subjects were asked to watch the self-related pictures at the same time of tDCS intervention.The effect of experiment was evaluated by questionnaires.According to the pre-and post-test data of the OCDUS and SES,the self-evaluation level of the experimental group wassignificantly improved,and the degree of drug craving was significantly reduced.However,there was no significant difference in the data of the control group.In Study three,the original questionnaires were used to track the original subjects after the intervention ended six months later.The results showed that there was no obvious change in drug craving and self-concept.This study draws the following conclusions: 1.The anodic tDCS on the right DLPFC can influence drug cravings for addicts.The intervention principle is to enhance the connection between drug image and negative emotion,and made the individuals aversion to drug-related stimulis,which reduce the degree of craving for drugs and the extent of conflicts with normal life,so that they will hate drug and their drug craving will be reduced.2.The anodic tDCS on the left DLPFC can affect self-concept of addicts.The intervention principle is to enhance the connection between self-concept and positive emotion,and made the individuals be happy with the self-related stimulis,so that they will accept themselves and their self-evaluation and self-acceptance will be improved.3.The intervention on self-concept can also influence drug craving.It not only improves the individual's self-evaluation,but also significantly enhances the individual's resistance to drug and reduces the individual's craving for drug.This is because self-concept is an important psychological basis for drug addiction.4.The intervention effect of a tDCS treatment could not be maintained for more than half a year.It requires long-term and multiple tDCS interventions to consolidate.This study innovatively combines the physiological and psychological mechanisms which affect addiction,and demonstrates the effectiveness of tDCS technology aimed at drug craving and self-concept.It explores a new intervention model to help the withdrawal of drug addiction,which has rich theoretical value and practical significance.