Actively Recruiting
Craving & Decision-Making
Led by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey · Updated on 2025-05-23
160
Participants Needed
1
Research Sites
128 weeks
Total Duration
On this page
Sponsors
R
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Lead Sponsor
N
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Collaborating Sponsor
AI-Summary
What this Trial Is About
Craving is the strong desire for something, such as for substances in drug addiction and food or other activities in everyday life. Recent work suggests craving can influence how people make decisions and assign value to choice options available to them, yet the neural mechanisms underlying these interactions between craving and valuation remain unknown. To address this, this study uses cognitive decision-making tasks that measure how much individuals will pay (from a study endowment) to have everyday consumer items or snack foods when they crave something specific (opioids or a specific snack, respectively). First, the study will identify the neural mechanisms for how drug craving (craving for opioids) interacts with valuation for consumer items that have associations with drug use or not in people receiving treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). This will be evaluated in the activity patterns and interactions among brain regions involved in craving and value assignment during decision-making. Then, the study will examine for parallel mechanisms for how food craving (craving for a specific snack) interacts with valuation for snack food items that have similar features to the craved snack or not in people receiving treatment for OUD and non-psychiatric community control participants.
CONDITIONS
Official Title
Craving & Decision-Making
Who Can Participate
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if you...
- At least 18 years of age
- Willingness and ability to follow study requirements and provide written informed consent
- Minimum of 6th grade reading level
- For participants with OUD: primary diagnosis of OUD including heroin or painkiller use
- Receiving outpatient medications for OUD treatment
- At least 12-month history of opioid use
You will not qualify if you...
- Unable to speak or read English
- Active psychosis or mania
- Current or past schizophrenia diagnosis
- History of intellectual disability, developmental or neurological disorder, seizures, epilepsy, or loss of consciousness longer than 30 minutes
- Severe medical conditions requiring hospitalization or that could compromise study participation
- MRI contraindications such as claustrophobia, nonremovable piercings, certain metal in the body, or pregnancy
- For community control participants: positive urine drug screen
- Current or past problematic substance use other than nicotine or limited alcohol abuse
- Current or past bipolar disorder diagnosis
- Use of central nervous system medications within past 6 weeks (e.g., antidepressants, Ritalin)
AI-Screening
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Trial Site Locations
Total: 1 location
1
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Piscataway, New Jersey, United States, 08854
Actively Recruiting
Research Team
A
Anna Konova, PhD
CONTACT
How is the study designed?
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Masking
NONE
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Number of Arms
2
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