Temporal Window and Episodic Future Thinking in CUD

NCT ID: NCT05507814

Last Updated: 2025-12-02

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 141 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-11-30
• Study Completion Date: 2025-11-24

Brief Summary

The primary objective is to test the theory of Reinforcer Pathology via manipulation of the temporal window with successive Episodic Future Thinking generation in individuals with cocaine use disorder.

Detailed Description

Adults with cocaine use disorder will be randomly assigned to experimental or control groups, stratified by polydrug use disorder, SES, and sex. The experimental group will compare episodic future thinking (EFT) to control episodic thinking (CET). The study procedures will include a baseline session (S1) and a 4-week intervention period where participants will return to the lab three times a week. Participants will generate new EFT and CET events at approximately weekly intervals. The EFT or CET events will be texted to them twice daily with urine samples obtained thrice-weekly. To probe resistance to disruption, both groups will receive stress-inducing probes that shorten the temporal window after the first and last cue generation. During the first assessment visit (S2), participants will be randomized with stratification to generate either episodic future thinking (EFT) or control episodic thinking (CET) events and will undergo neuroimaging procedures. At the following session in S3, participants will be randomized to receive one of two stress probes (counterbalanced) or their respective control. Participants will be exposed to a stress probe or control at S3 and the corresponding narrative at the next visit, S4. S5 and S6 will begin with participants generating new EFT/CET events that will be used for that session and the following two sessions. S7, like S2, will begin with EFT/CET event generation and neuroimaging procedures. During the final two sessions (S8, S9), participants will be exposed to the other stress probe and control that they did not see during S3/S4.

Conditions

Cocaine Use Disorder

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Episodic Future Thinking (EFT)

Participants will generate positive future events they are looking forward to at several time points in the future (e.g., 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, 1 year, and 5 years). Participants will be reminded of these events using cues throughout the study and instructed to think about these cues as they make their decisions. This intervention will be tested in both the presence and absence of stress probes.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Episodic Future Thinking (EFT)

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Participants will generate descriptions of vivid positive future events.

Control Episodic Thinking (CET)

Participants will generate positive recent past events that have happened to them at several time points in the previous day (e.g., 7pm-10pm, 4pm-7pm, 1pm-4pm, 10am-1pm, and 7am-10am). Participants will be reminded of these events using cues throughout the study and instructed to think about these cues as they make their decisions. This intervention will be tested in both the presence and absence of stress probes.

Group Type: SHAM_COMPARATOR

Control Episodic Thinking

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Participants will generate descriptions of vivid positive future events.

Interventions

Episodic Future Thinking (EFT)

Participants will generate descriptions of vivid positive future events.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Control Episodic Thinking

Participants will generate descriptions of vivid positive future events.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

EFT; CET

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. demonstrate recent cocaine use and CUD (use in last month, DSM-5 for CUD > 4)

2. be 18 years of age or older

3. have a desire to quit or cut down on their cocaine use, but do not have proximate plans to enroll in treatment for CUD during the study period

Exclusion Criteria

1. meeting moderate to severe DSM-5 criteria for opioid use disorder

2. having a current diagnosis of any psychotic disorder

3. having a history of seizure disorders or traumatic brain injury

4. having any contraindication for participation in the MRI sessions

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Arizona State University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Carilion Clinic

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Stephen LaConte

Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Stephen LaConte, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Virginia Polytechnic and State University

Locations

Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC

Roanoke, Virginia, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

VT IRB #22-529

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id