1. The role of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in the treatment of behavioral addictions: Two case reports and review of the literature
- Author
-
Michela Sarlo, Luigi Gallimberti, Diego Cuppone, Graziella Madeo, Nicola Cellini, L J Gómez Pérez, S Soldatesca, Sonia Chindamo, and Stefano Cardullo
- Subjects
Male ,Behavioral addiction (BA) ,Compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) ,Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) ,Internet gaming disorder (IGD) ,Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) ,Behavior, Addictive ,Erotica ,Humans ,Internet Addiction Disorder ,Middle Aged ,Prefrontal Cortex ,Treatment Outcome ,Young Adult ,Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ,medicine.medical_treatment ,media_common.quotation_subject ,internet gaming disorder (IGD) ,Psychological intervention ,Medicine (miscellaneous) ,Behavioral addictions ,medicine ,Addictive ,Effective treatment ,Pornography ,repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) ,compulsive sexual behavior disorder (CSBD) ,Pathological ,media_common ,Behavior ,behavioral addiction (BA) ,business.industry ,Addiction ,General Medicine ,Transcranial magnetic stimulation ,Psychiatry and Mental health ,Clinical Psychology ,dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) ,The Internet ,Psychology ,business ,Clinical psychology - Abstract
BackgroundSeveral behaviors, besides consumption of psychoactive substances, produce short-term reward that may lead to persistent aberrant behavior despite adverse consequences. Growing evidence suggests that these behaviors warrant consideration as nonsubstance or “behavioral” addictions, such as pathological gambling, internet gaming disorder and internet addiction.Case presentationHere, we report two cases of behavioral addictions (BA), compulsive sexual behavior disorder for online porn use and internet gaming disorder. A 57-years-old male referred a loss of control over his online pornography use, started 15 years before, while a 21-years-old male university student reported an excessive online gaming activity undermining his academic productivity and social life. Both patients underwent a high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) protocol over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (l-DLPFC) in a multidisciplinary therapeutic setting. A decrease of addictive symptoms and an improvement of executive control were observed in both cases.DiscussionStarting from these clinical observations, we provide a systematic review of the literature suggesting that BAs share similar neurobiological mechanisms to those underlying substance use disorders (SUD). Moreover, we discuss whether neurocircuit-based interventions, such as rTMS, might represent a potential effective treatment for BAs.
- Published
- 2021