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Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) for Cocaine Use Disorder

This study is testing if transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, can help reduce cocaine cravings in people with cocaine use disorder. You would receive either active tDCS or a sham (placebo) treatment, combined with cognitive reappraisal training (learning to change your thoughts about drug cues). Researchers will measure changes in your brain activity using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) and your self-reported craving scores to see if the treatment is successful. The study aims to enroll 120 participants and is currently unclear about its recruitment status. To join, you must be between 18 and 60 years old and have a diagnosis of stimulant use disorder with cocaine as your primary drug of choice.

Study design
This is an interventional study with a planned enrollment of 120 participants. You would be randomly assigned to receive either real or sham tDCS, combined with cognitive reappraisal training or a control condition.
What's involved
You would receive tDCS stimulation for 20 minutes per day, three days a week, for 5 weeks. You would also participate in cognitive reappraisal training during these sessions.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Your craving scores will be assessed at baseline, immediately after 5 weeks of tDCS, and 1 month after the interventions.

AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.

NCT07318480

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) for Treatment of Cocaine Use Disorder

Recruiting
NAAges 18–60InterventionalTreatment
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
~120 participants
Updated 2026-03-03 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulator (tDCS)Cognitive Reappraisal Training

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
fMRI blood-oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal
Measured over At baseline and immediately after 5 weeks of tDCS.
+1 more outcome measured

Conditions

Cocaine Use Disorder
Cocaine Dependence
Substance Use Disorder (SUD)

Explore related trials

Cocaine Use Disorder

NCT07318480

Where you'd take part

This study runs at 1 site. They're the same protocol — you choose where, and that choice sets who your contact draft is addressed to.

  • Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

    New York, New Yorkstudy coordinator listed

    Recruiting

Sites open and close at different times, so the status above is per site — it can differ from the study's overall status.

Study leadership

  • Rita Goldstein, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Who to contact

Kathryn Rachel Drury Clinical Research Coordinator
[email protected]
646-937-2875
Email the study team

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

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

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)

What this trial measures

  • fMRI blood-oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signalAt baseline and immediately after 5 weeks of tDCS.

    Neuroimaging - Measure of fMRI blood-oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex before and immediately after 5 weeks of tDCS.

  • Change in Self-Reported Craving ScoreAt baseline, immediately after 5 weeks of tDCS, and 1 month after interventions.

    Changes in measures of craving cocaine craving on a 0-9 point scale in response to interventions, with high scores indicating higher craving.