tRNS in Anterior Cingulate Cortex Reduces Craving Over Dual Pathology Patients (tRND&SUDs)

May 18, 2026 updated by: Spanish Foundation for Neurometrics Development

Transcranial Random Noise Stimulation in Anterior Cingulate Cortex Reduces Craving Over Dual Pathology Patients

The purpose of this study is to study the efficacy and security of noninvasive brain stimulation as a new approach for patients with Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) plus other psychiatric conditions like ADHD, Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, etc.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Background: There is an intimate relationship between addictive behaviors and other mental disorders, proven by clinical practice and many epidemiological studies, genetic and neuroscience. This gives risk to the diagnosis of Dual Pathology: an addiction and another mental disorder.

Functional neuroimaging studies have shown that anterior cingulate cortex is associated with substance´s dependence and craving. Transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) stimulates parts of the brain and can change it´s activity.

Researchers are interested in reduce cravings for substance dependence on patients with Dual Pathology using tRNS in anterior cingulate cortex.

Aims: To determine whether tRNS in anterior cingulate cortex can reduce craving over Dual Pathology patients.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
225

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Spain
    • Murcia
      • Cartagena, Murcia, Spain, 30310
        • Slow Environment Foundation

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 60 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • > 18 years old and less than 60 years
  • Best-practice diagnosed Dual Pathology
  • Diagnosed since at least two years prior to enrollment.
  • Abuse more than 2 Substances

ExclusionC riteria:

  • Serious visual and hearing loss
  • Brain injury following cranial trauma
  • Other neurological disorders like Parkinson, ME, headache, etc.
  • Birth trauma
  • Mental retardation
  • Pregnant

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: tRNS over Anterior Cingulate
Dual Pathology (Substance Use Disorder plus another psychiatric trait) 75 patients with diagnosed SUDs plus another psychiatric disorder will be receive tRNS in the disease-specific Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC), be studied blindly to evaluate the craving reduction after 35 tRNS sessions.
Device: Transcranial Random Noise Stimulation
Random Noise Stimulation between 100 and 500 Hz and 400-500 microAmperes are applied over head in particular areas
Other Names:
  • tRNS, tES
Experimental: tRNS applied over DLPFC
Dual Pathology (Substance Use Disorder plus another psychiatric trait) 75 patients with diagnosed SUDs plus another psychiatric disorder will be receive tRNS in the dorso-lateral-prefrontal-cortex (DLPFC), be studied blindly to evaluate the craving reduction after 35 tRNS sessions.
Device: Transcranial Random Noise Stimulation
Random Noise Stimulation between 100 and 500 Hz and 400-500 microAmperes are applied over head in particular areas
Other Names:
  • tRNS, tES
Sham Comparator: Sham Group
75 patients will be receive tRNS sham 35 sessions.
Device: Transcranial Random Noise Stimulation
Random Noise Stimulation between 100 and 500 Hz and 400-500 microAmperes are applied over head in particular areas
Other Names:
  • tRNS, tES

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
AMEN Questionnarie
Time Frame: Following patients during 3 months after Brain noninvasive estimulation
100 Items Questionnarie subdivided in 5 subscales: basal ganglia, cingulate cortez, temporal cortex, prefrontal cortex and limbic system
Following patients during 3 months after Brain noninvasive estimulation
Emotional Visual Event Related Potentials
Time Frame: Following patients during 3 months after Brain noninvasive estimulation
Emotional Visual Event Related Potentials responses (time courses and topographies) and ICA components related with them, identified by Mitsar 201M EEG Amplifier using EEGLab software [ Time Frame: brainwaves patterns following an array of visual stimuli (human faces) during a 22 min. examination ]
Following patients during 3 months after Brain noninvasive estimulation

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
CAGE Adapted to Include Drugs (CAGE-AID)
Time Frame: Following 3 months after tRNS brain stimulation
The CAGE-AID is a sensitive screen for alcohol and drug problems.
Following 3 months after tRNS brain stimulation

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Spanish Foundation for Neurometrics Development

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Fundacion para la Formacion e Investigacion Sanitarias de la Region de Murcia

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Moises Aguilar-Domingo, PhD, Spanish Foundation for Neurometrics Development

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 1, 2013

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 10, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 10, 2013

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 12, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 19, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 18, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • tRNS01072013

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