Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy
Open Access

Case Report

Quantitative Electroencephalography Analysis (qEEG) of Neuro-Electro- Adaptive Therapy 12™ [NEAT12] Up-Regulates Cortical Potentials in an Alcoholic during Protracted Abstinence: Putative Anti-Craving Implications

¹ Department of Nutrigenomic Research, Bio-Clarity, LLC, San Diego, California USA

² Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine and Veterans Administration System, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

³ Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, College of Medicine and McKnight Brain Institute, Gainesville, Florida, USA

⁴ Center for Genomics and Applied Gene Therapy, Institute of Integrative Omics and Applied Biotechnology (IIOAB),Nonakuri, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India

⁵ Department of Addiction Research & Therapy, Malibu Beach Recovery Center, Malibu Beach, California, USA

⁶ Dominion Diagnostics, LLC., North Kingstown, Rhode Island, USA

⁷ Path Foundation NY, New York, New York, USA

*Corresponding Author:

Kenneth Blum
Department of Psychiatry and McKnight Brain Institute
University of Florida
College of Medicine, Gainesville, Fl., USA
Tel: 619-890-2167
E-mail: drd2gene@gmail.com

Received date: January 09, 2014; Accepted date: February 07, 2014; Published date: February 20, 2014

Citation: Waite RL, Oscar-Berman M, Braverman ER, Barh D, Blum K (2014) Quantitative Electroencephalography Analysis (qEEG) of Neuro-Electro-Adaptive Therapy 12™ [NEAT12] Up-Regulates Cortical Potentials in an Alcoholic during Protracted Abstinence: Putative Anti-Craving Implications. J Addict Res Ther 5:171. doi:10.4172/2155-6105.1000171

Copyright: © 2014 Waite RL, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Introduction: Cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) is a noninvasive therapy that has been used for decades in the United States to treat anxiety, depression, and insomnia in the general population. The effectiveness of CES has been questioned by many and its use is considered controversial. In this study we are presenting data on one alcoholic patient using a newly engineered device we call Neuro-Electro-Adaptive Therapy 12™ [NEAT12]. This hybrid device utilizes TENS current characteristics yielding CES effects. This device has been found to primarily target the excitation of the Cingulate Gyrus region of the brain.

Case presentation: This is a 42 year old male who has been abstinent from alcohol for approximately two months. The data presented herein represents the pre to post qEEG differences of an alcoholic in protracted abstinence. This subject was evaluated both before and after using the NEAT-12 device. The pre to post comparisons suggest that the cortical potentials especially at the Cingulate Gyrus are up regulated after using the device. The absolute power changes obtained shows a decrease of more than 2 SD as noted in the delta wave spectrum. Also noted is an overall cortical increase in the alpha spectrum. The resting alert state of a neurotypical population is most prominently marked by a regulation of 7.5-11 Hz alpha throughout the cortex. The decreased in delta and theta suggests an up regulation of the prefrontal cortex and the anterior Cingulate Gyrus a site involved in substance use disorder (SUD).

Conclusion: A presence of dominant slow waves through the prefrontal cortex and the anterior Cingulate Gyrus is often associated with OCD, anxiety, impulsivity and cravings in addicted populations. It is conceivable that our initial finding of altered electrical activity of the brain using qEEG analysis suggests the NEAT-12 may induce a “normalization “of aberrant electrical activity of the cortical region of the brain known to occur during protracted abstinence of alcoholics. It may have utility as a putative anti-craving CES device and therefore warrants intensive investigation.