Can a magnetic helmet curb alcohol cravings in veterans?

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * The study will be open to male and females, regardless of race and ethnic origin, who are in active treatment for an alcohol use disorder (AUD). * Meet Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition criteria for AUD, and alcohol is self-identified as primary substance of misuse. * Actively in treatment at VA Palo Alto HCS Addiction Treatment Service, and able to read, verbalize understanding, and voluntarily sign the Informed Consent Form prior to participation in study procedures. * Participants will be accepted if taking medications specifically for the treatment of MDD, cigarette smoking, or for other psychiatric conditions. * as long as the medications are not documented to lower seizure threshold * must be stable on any psychotropic medication for at least 1 month prior to enrollment * it would be clinically contraindicated to require participants to discontinue such medications for research. * Participants will be abstinent from alcohol and non-prescribed substances for at least 7 consecutive days prior to active or sham rTMS and no participant demonstrates active acute withdrawal symptoms. Exclusion Criteria: Psychiatric: * History of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders * Bipolar Disorders * A current substance use disorder that exceeds the severity of the AUD * based on DSM-5 diagnostic criteria * Current use of an FDA approved medication for treatment of AUD, i.e.: * disulfiram * acamprosate * naltrexone * Active current suicidal intent or plan * patients with a previous clinical flag for risk for suicide will be required to have an established safety plan involving their primary psychiatrist and the treatment team before entering the clinical trial * Any form of previous rTMS or electroconvulsive treatment Biomedical: * Including but not limited to uncontrolled thyroid disease * Unstable congestive heart failure * Angina * Other severe cardiac illness as defined by treatment regimen changes in the prior 3 months * Cerebrovascular accident * Cancer if \< 1 year since end of treatment * Unstable diabetes * COPD requiring oxygen supplementation * Alzheimer's disease * Parkinson's disease * Any biomedical implants with ferromagnetic content * Neurostimulation devices * Cardiac pacemakers or any magnetic resonance contraindications * Traumatic brain injury with self-reported or observed loss of consciousness \> 30 minutes * Any primary or traumatically induced seizure disorder General: * Lack of fluency in English * Wechsler Adult Reading Test below the 7th percentile, i.e.: * moderate or greater impairment in estimated general intelligence * Females who are pregnant or actively attempting pregnancy * conservative exclusion for magnetic resonance research * Current use of any medication or substance that is documented to lower seizure threshold or has been identified as a contraindication for rTMS treatment