Background: Mind-body exercise is used for the rehabilitation of individuals with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD). Attention bias to substances is an important index of MUD. However, whether a mind-body exercise intervention can decrease attention bias is unclear. Objective: This study aimed to test the effect of a four-week Tai Chi (a Chinese traditional mind-body exercise) exercise program on the attention bias of individuals with MUD.Methods: Thirty-two men with MUD and without Tai Chi practice experience were recruited and randomly assigned to either a Tai Chi exercise group or a control group. The Tai Chi group received four-week Tai Chi training, while the control group engaged in daily exercise (including radio gymnastics and Jianxincao, two kinds of free-hand exercises). During a drug-related Stroop task, participants were instructed to respond to the color of the word ignoring the word type (drug-related or neutral words). The reaction time and d' (the index of sensitivity) were measured. Results: The participants showed attention bias to substance cues; the reaction time was slower for drug-related words than for neutral words (p .05). Conclusion: Four-week Tai Chi intervention reduced sensitivity and attentional bias to drug-related cues in individuals with MUD, suggesting that mind-body exercise might enhance recovery from MUD via attention control.
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