Neuromodulation and Cognitive Training in Opioid Use Disorder

Running, not enrolling · Not applicable · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Opioid-use Disorder, Opioid Dependence, Opioid Abuse

In brief

The relapsing nature of opioid use disorder is a major obstacle to successful treatment. About 90% of those entering treatment will relapse within one year. To improve treatment outcome, new interventions targeting the underlying brain biomarkers of relapse vulnerability hold significant promise in reducing this critical public health problem. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that can modulate brain connectivity.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT03773523
Run by: University of Minnesota
People needed: 30
Starts: 2019-08-01
Expected to finish: 2027-05-15
Last updated by the study team: 2026-06-22

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 60. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

20 abstinent individuals (18-60 years old; 1-2 weeks of abstinence) who meet DSM-V criteria for opioid use disorder (OUD) will be recruited from the Lodging Plus Program, part of University of Minnesota Medical Center
This 28-day program provides a supervised environment to treat individuals with OUD in which patients receive random drug screenings. Lodging Plus has 50 beds and admits an average of 20 patients per week and about 50% of patients admitted have a diagnosis of opioid use disorder.
Ability to provide written consent and comply with study procedures, meet the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) diagnostic criteria for OUD. Subjects may have current comorbid drug use, but their primary substance use disorder diagnosis needs to be based on opioid use. Subjects must have the intention to remain in the Lodging Plus program (4 weeks) until the end of the intervention portion of the study. Vulnerable populations will not be included.

You may not qualify if…

Any medical condition or treatment with neurological sequelae (i.e. stroke, tumor, loss of consciousness>30 min, HIV)
A head injury resulting in a skull fracture or a loss of consciousness exceeding 30 minutes (i.e., moderate or severe TBI)
Any contraindications for tDCS or MRI scanning (tDCS contraindication: history of seizures; MRI contraindications; metal implants, pacemakers or any other implanted electrical device, injury with metal, braces, dental implants, non-removable body piercings, pregnancy, breathing or moving disorder)
DSM-V criteria for psychiatric disorder, may have a lifetime diagnosis of depression
Presence of a condition that would render study measures difficult or impossible to administer or interpret
Age outside the range of 18 to 60
Primary current substance use disorder diagnosis on a substance other than opioid except for caffeine or nicotine
Clinical evidence for Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome
Nicotine use will be recorded.

Where it is running

University of Minnesota — Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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