The study suggests that troubled gamers, shoppers and compulsive consumers could “re-tune” their brains by giving them an electric shock.
- The non-invasive technique involves placing electrodes on the patient’s scalp
- Electrodes deliver currents at specific frequencies to “re-tune” brain waves
- During testing, the technique reduced obsessive-compulsive behaviors by up to 3 months, with greater improvements in those with more severe symptoms.
According to new research, troubled gamers, shoppers and compulsive consumers could “re-tune” their brains by giving them an electric shock.
The non-invasive technique involves sending small jolts of electricity into the orbitofrontal cortex, an area of gray matter that slows down in people with addictions.
Researchers hope the unusual technique could open the door to fighting a number of obsessive compulsive disorders (OCDs) that affect about one in eight people on the planet.
According to new research (stock image), it could cure problem gamblers, shoppers and people with eating disorders by “zapping” the brain.
Uncontrollable impulses can be life-threatening, causing obesity, substance abuse or financial ruin.
“This new form of personalized brain modulation may be effective in producing long-term benefits in people who experience anxiety due to actions such as compulsive eating, gambling, and shopping,” said Dr. Robert Reinhart, of the University. of Boston, USA, who was the author of the study.
Called HD-tACS (high definition transcranial alternating current stimulation), the therapy involves placing electrodes on the patient’s scalp.
They provide small currents at specific frequencies to “re-tune” brain waves, Dr. Reinhart explained.
His team applied the therapy to 124 volunteers with different levels of OCD over a five-day period.
After undergoing the sessions, both men and women performed better in a series of laboratory experiments that tested their self-control, such as resisting play.
Dr. Reinhart said, “It reduced obsessive-compulsive behavior by up to 3 months, with the greatest improvements observed in those with the most severe symptoms.”
The non-invasive technique involves sending small jolts of electricity into the orbitofrontal cortex (shown in pink on the left of the diagram), an area of gray matter that slows down in people with addictions.
The technique of brain zapping could open the door to combat a number of conditions, including problematic gambling (stock image)
The new treatment opens the door to fighting a number of conditions that affect around one in eight people on the planet.
Dr Reinhart said: “Nearly a billion people around the world suffer from obsessive-compulsive behaviors, even though our mechanistic understanding of them is incomplete and no effective therapy is available.
“They are very common in the general population and cause significant distress to the individual.”
This new form of personalized brain modulation can be effective in producing lasting benefits in people who experience anxiety due to actions such as compulsive eating, gambling, and shopping (stock image)
Existing treatments such as antidepressants and other medications produce disappointing results and can cause side effects.
Dr. Reinhart said, “With noninvasive neuromodulation, interventions can be customized according to individual neurophysiological dynamics.”
Mental health charities have said the number of people seeking help for obsessive compulsive disorders has risen sharply since the pandemic began.
Mental health charities have said the number of people seeking help for obsessive compulsive disorders has risen sharply since the pandemic began (stock image)
Dr Reinhart said: “Currently, our results provide causal evidence of the involvement of obsessive-compulsive behaviors in orbitofrontal cortex.
“Frequency – specific effects of neuromodulation provide a mechanistic view of neurophysiology that can be geared toward improving symptoms.
“Custom neuromodulation design leverages the neuroplastic properties of the brain to produce long-lasting effects through chronic administration of HD-tACS.
“Although we examined a subclinical population in the present study, the observed benefits provide motivation for further research into personalized neuromodulation as an experimental drug for clinical disorders of the obsessive-compulsive spectrum.”
The study was published in the journal Nature Medicine.