Neuroimaging of Adolescent Cannabis Use Treatment

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

80 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2026-01-15

Study Completion Date

2030-07-31

Brief Summary

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This study is testing whether brain activity related to learning can help predict how well teens respond to a treatment program designed to reduce cannabis use. Teens ages 14-17 will complete a brain scan and then take part in 10 weekly virtual sessions where they report cannabis use and complete drug tests at home. Participants can earn prizes for staying cannabis-free.

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Detailed Description

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This is a 13-week clinical trial to examine whether success during contingency management treatment for cannabis use is associated with baseline functioning of instrumental learning neuro-circuitries. The investigators propose to recruit N=80 youths ages 14-17 with varying levels of cannabis use. Following phone prescreening, participants will undergo informed consent/assent and eligibility assessment with an in-person visit. Participants who are eligible will undergo a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan where participants will perform an instrumental learning task during a second in-person visit. At this visit, participants and participants' guardians or most recent caregiver will be provided with ten urine drug screens. A tutorial will be provided by study staff on how to administer and read urine drug screens. After the fMRI scan, participants will undergo ten weekly virtual contingency management sessions administered via HIPAA-compliant telehealth software (e.g., Microsoft Teams). At each contingency management session, participants will be asked to provide a urine sample, and participants' guardians will be asked to administer the urine drug screen based on this sample. At each contingency management session, the timeline followback will be used to assess which days since the last session participants used cannabis at all. Finally, at each contingency management session, participants will answer brief questionnaires regarding participants' current cannabis cravings and cannabis withdrawal symptoms. For the first two sessions, participants will be able to spin a virtual wheel to win prizes (either positive affirmations or amazon gift cards in varying amounts from $5-$100) for producing a urine drug screen and answering the questions. For sessions 3-10, participants will spin the virtual wheel to win prizes after producing a urine drug screen that is negative for cannabinoids and reporting that they have not used cannabis since the last session. After the ten weekly contingency management sessions, participants will return for an in-person visit where participants will answer questions regarding their cannabis use disorder symptoms during the contingency management treatment and readiness to change. The investigators' specific aims are to identify associations between baseline Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) symptom levels and neural activity during instrumental learning in cannabis-using adolescents (Aim 1) and Identify associations between neural activity during instrumental learning and reductions in cannabis use frequency during contingency management (Aim 2).

Conditions

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Cannabis Use Cannabis Dependence Cannabis Use Disorder Cannabis Abuse Cannabis Intoxication Cannabis Smoking Cannabis Withdrawal Cannabis-Related Disorder Cannabis Abuse, in Remission Cannabis Abuse, Episodic Use Marijuana Marijuana Abuse Marijuana Use Marijuana Smoking Marijuana Dependence Marijuana User Marijuana-Related Disorder Marijuana Use Disorder Addiction Addiction, Substance Substance Use Substance Use Disorders Substance Dependence Substance Abuse Substance Related Problem Substance Abuse Drug Chronic

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Contingency Management and Elastic Net Regression

All participants will receive Contingency Management treatment for Cannabis Use.

An elastic net regression model will be applied to the neuroimaging data for all participants to estimate scores on the CUDIT.

Group Type OTHER

Contingency Management

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Contingency management is an evidence-based behavioral intervention used to treat substance use disorders, including cannabis use disorder (CUD). Contingency management operates on the principles of instrumental learning, where positive reinforcement is used to encourage desired behaviors, such as abstinence from cannabis. First, specific target behaviors are identified for reinforcement. In CUD, this is often abstinence from cannabis use, verified through regular urine drug screens and self-reports. If the target behavior (i.e., abstaining from cannabis for a specified time period) is achieved, then patients receive tangible rewards immediately after attaining the target behavior. These rewards are often in the form of money, vouchers, or other incentives that are meaningful to the individual. We will examine whether success during contingency management treatment for cannabis use is associated with neural activity during instrumental learning in N=80 adolescents ages 14-17.

Elastic Net Regression

Intervention Type DEVICE

We will apply an elastic net regression model to the neuroimaging data to estimate CUDIT score based on neuroimaging data.

Interventions

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Contingency Management

Contingency management is an evidence-based behavioral intervention used to treat substance use disorders, including cannabis use disorder (CUD). Contingency management operates on the principles of instrumental learning, where positive reinforcement is used to encourage desired behaviors, such as abstinence from cannabis. First, specific target behaviors are identified for reinforcement. In CUD, this is often abstinence from cannabis use, verified through regular urine drug screens and self-reports. If the target behavior (i.e., abstaining from cannabis for a specified time period) is achieved, then patients receive tangible rewards immediately after attaining the target behavior. These rewards are often in the form of money, vouchers, or other incentives that are meaningful to the individual. We will examine whether success during contingency management treatment for cannabis use is associated with neural activity during instrumental learning in N=80 adolescents ages 14-17.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Elastic Net Regression

We will apply an elastic net regression model to the neuroimaging data to estimate CUDIT score based on neuroimaging data.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* 14-17 year old youth
* Guardian 18 years or older
* Youth is MRI-eligible: No metal implants, prosthetics, orthodontic devices, transdermal medication patches, piercings and/or hair or eyelash extensions that cannot easily be removed, metallic ink tattoos on the neck or face, or claustrophobia, and are not pregnant
* Youth must endorse having used cannabis at least once per week over the past month

Exclusion Criteria

* Youth has a history of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, intellectual disorders, pervasive development disorder or autism spectrum disorder, psychotic disorders, history of neurological problems (epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, brain tumor, cerebrovascular disease) by parent/guardian report
* Youth or caretaker who is monolingual non-English speaker
* Youth who is currently experiencing active psychosis symptoms or suicidal/homicidal ideation or who has been hospitalized within the past 6 months for psychosis or suicidality/homicidality
* Youth who is currently undergoing contingency management treatment for cannabis use disorder

Minimum Eligible Age

14 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

17 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No