VIDEO – KEEP TRYING –
Sept. 26, 2025 – “We take a picture of the individual’s brain, and then we match it with the helmet. We put the helmet on and then we’re able to really focus in and by matching up kind of where the transducers are in the area of the brain that we want to target. It really goes to show that by being able to target the area of the brain that’s the center of the rewards circuit, we’re able to reduce their craving for all substances.”
“We do what we call a Q Reactivity task, which is where we show individuals pictures of substances and paraphernalia to elicit a craving response. And they would tell us, ‘I’m looking at the pictures right now. This is really weird because earlier when I did before the procedure I would look at it and I would start, you know, my heart would start racing, I start really wanting the drug. But now I look at it and it’s just like it’s a new neutral drug.’ It’s like a neutral stimulus not making them want to use it at all,” said Mahoney.
The findings showed cravings stayed low for days, weeks, even months after the procedure. While there’s no set timeline for public use, UVA researchers are aiming to begin clinical trials by early 2026.
