AAT + tDCS to Reduce Cue-induced Craving and Smoking Behavior

The Approach/avoidance task (AAT) training is done using a joystick. The AAT tasks involves having participants push away pictures of smoking stimuli that appear on the screen by pushing the joystick forward, and pulling in pictures of nonsmoking stimuli that appear on the screen by pulling the joystick towards themselves. Pushing smoking-related pictures away causes the picture to shrink in size, whereas pulling a picture closer causes the picture to increase in size. This task consists of 4 blocks of 24 pictures, taking 30 minutes.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation active (2.0 mA) (tDCS) will be used to temporarily increase cortical excitability of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) in healthy daily smokers. Participants assigned to active tDCS conditions will receive active (2.0 mA) tDCS, with anode electrode placement over the right dlPFC and cathode electrode placement over the left bicep. tDCS will be administered the first 20 minutes of each of the five 30 minute AAT training sessions.

During Active Control (AC) participants press a button on the left of right of the joystick to indicate the position the picture on a screen. Position of pictures will be balanced across the 4 blocks of 24 pictures, taking 30 minutes.

Sham transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (0.1 mA) (sham tDCS) will be used as a control for active tDCS with anode electrode placement over the right dlPFC and cathode electrode placement over the left bicep. Sham tDCS will be administered during the first 20 minutes of each of the four blocks of 24 pictures, taking 30 minutes, across the 5 training sessions.