research on addiction

Objective: The present study was an attempt to examine the effect of repetitive Transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on the reduction of Behavioral Activation System's activity in right and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex among methamphetamine abusers. Method: In the present study, single subject and multiple baseline research designs were used and repeated measurements observations were also performed. The number of eight methamphetamine users was selected via convenience sampling method from an addiction treatment center and were put in four situations. Two participants received dorsolateral right prefrontal cortex stimulation with frequency of 10 Hz, two of them received dorsolateral left prefrontal cortex stimulation with frequency of 10 Hz, two participants received placebo, and the other two ones were in the control state; all of them were evaluated at the end of the fifteenth session. Then, the research data were analyzed using graphical charts, percentage reduction, and effect size. Results: Repetitive Transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) led to the significant reduction of Behavioral Activation System's activity in both right and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex among methamphetamine abusers. Conclusion: High frequency rTMS is effective in reducing the activity of BAS in methamphetamine users.