Relapse to heavy drinking is a common outcome following treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD).  Continued development of innovative and efficacious interventions that reduce heavy drinking and specifically target risk factors for heavy drinking is thus clearly warranted.  One novel intervention that has considerable promise for reducing heavy drinking is mindfulness-based relapse prevention, a behavioral intervention that was designed to target experiences of craving and other risk factors for heavy drinking.  The goal of the proposed study is to examine whether combining mindfulness with a non-invasive form of brain stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), could improve treatment outcomes for individuals who want to reduce their drinking. The proposed study will examine the efficacy (Primary Aim) and psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms of treatment efficacy using behavioral measures and electroencephalography (EEG) (Secondary Aim).  In addition to addressing the question of whether adding active tDCS to mindfulness training enhances efficacy, it will further examine issues of neurophysiological and behavioral treatment mechanisms to better inform the design of a future large efficacy trial. 

The University of New Mexico Women in STEM Faculty Development research seed project will support the purchase of new state-of-the-art tDCS devices that will allow for a fully double-blinded trial of tDCS.  The Women in STEM award will also provide Dr. Witkiewitz with the opportunity to develop her program of research in using tDCS.