Please sign in to follow a disease.
Zapping the brain to beat addiction: new trial tests Craving-Busting device
NCT ID NCT07318480
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether a gentle brain stimulation technique (tDCS) combined with cognitive training can reduce cravings in people with cocaine addiction. 120 participants will receive either real or sham stimulation for 20 minutes a day, three times a week, for five weeks. Researchers will also use brain scans to see how the treatment affects brain activity.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) device
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could lead to a portable, self-administered device to reduce drug cravings in real time, helping people with addiction manage urges.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage study with a small sample. The effect may be small or not last beyond the study period. Brain stimulation can cause mild side effects like tingling or headache.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
About 120 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Feb 2026
- Expected to finish
-
Feb 2030
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
18 to 60 years
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Ability to understand and give informed consent * Men and women 18-60 years of age. * For women of childbearing potential, current use of a medically acceptable form of birth control * DSM-5 diagnosis of stimulant use disorder with crack/cocaine as the drug of choice Exclusion Criteria: * Lifetime diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, bipolar I disorder, or delusional disorder as confirmed by the MINI or autism spectrum disorder as confirmed by medical history at the screening visit * Current clinically significant or unstable medical conditions, including metabolic, endocrinological, oncological or autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases common in people with substance use disorders including Hepatitis B and C or HIV/AIDS; use of medications deemed exclusionary by the study team; or any laboratory value outside the reference range that the senior investigator team considers to be of clinical relevance * Head trauma with loss of consciousness (\>30 min) * History of neurological or developmental disease of central origin including stroke, brain tumor or seizures, encompassing those symptoms associated with periods of drug withdrawal or abstinence * Metal implants or devices that may be impacted by the electrical stimulation and additional MR contraindications * Women of childbearing potential must use a medically acceptable birth control method during the study and will be asked to take a pregnancy urine test before exposure to tDCS (or MRI)
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Cocaine dependence are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
RECRUITINGNew York, New York, 10029, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a Two-Drug combo break cocaine addiction?
- Zapping the brain while talking: a new angle on cocaine addiction
- Can a Two-Drug combo break Cocaine's grip?
- Ear stimulation may ease depression in addiction treatment
- Can a diabetes and Weight-Loss drug help break cocaine addiction?
- Training police to refer, not arrest, could curb Drug-Related harm