According to the 2019 report of the French Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT), alcohol and tobacco remain the most consumed addictive substances in France today and the two leading causes of avoidable mortality. Beside them, behavioral addictions are still little known. They affect less than 5% of the population. With numerous consequences: physical and psychological disorders, social, marital and family consequences, increased mortality …
Faced with this observation, the addiction service of the CHU Dijon Bourgogne, headed by Professor Benoît Trojak, has implemented several research protocols. Today, the service teams are looking for “motivated volunteers to reduce their consumption or use” regarding alcohol, tobacco and playing games on the Internet. Interested parties can contact the service directly on 03 80 29 37 69 or on [email protected].
Concerning the addiction to online games, the announcement of the CHU Dijon specifies that people likely to participate in this protocol must more particularly fulfill one or more of the following criteria:
– are excessively concerned about video games on the Internet, excluding cash games
– have failed to stop or reduce their use of online games despite various attempts
– see their social, family, professional and / or school life modified by this activity
– continue to practice this activity despite the negative consequences
– use this practice to relieve a negative mood, anxiety, guilt…
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What is this research about?
Research protocols focus on two transcranial stimulation techniques : repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) which are two non-invasive brain stimulation techniques.
RTMS is an effective treatment for resistant depressive disorders. Simple, safe, without premedication and safe, transcranial stimulation sessions are carried out on an outpatient basis, therefore without hospitalization, and last only ten minutes.
Recent data suggests that these techniques would have an interest in addictology. They would allow in the event of addiction to decrease the strong desire to consume (craving) and to improve the decision-making processes then leading to a decrease in impulsivity and risk-taking.
If, today, various studies have been published in addictology, these have been carried out on small numbers of patients. Furthermore, the long-term effectiveness of stimulation on addictions remains to be demonstrated. It is therefore to assess the effectiveness of these techniques that the CHU is looking for volunteers.
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