NANJING, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese psychiatrists have developed a clinical practice using high-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation targeting certain areas of the brain cortex to ease pain during drug rehabilitation.

Liang Ying from the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Nanjing University in east China's Jiangsu Province was the chief professor leading the research program.

Her team used the treatment on methamphetamine addicts who entered the rehab for two to 15 days.

"The intervention using repetitive magnetic stimulation lasted for 10 days. The recipients showed withdrawal symptoms of poor sleep quality, depression and anxiety," said Liang.

She said there are limited pharmaceutical tools available for detoxification from methamphetamine, which causes difficulty sleeping and depression.

The brain stimulation treatment can help drug addicts improve their self-control in regards to their desire for drugs.

Liang's research results were published in the latest issue of the international journal JAMA Psychiatry on Wednesday.

She said the team would further explore the potential value of the procedure in larger clinical trials to prevent relapse from addiction.