Neurocognitive and Neurobehavioral Mechanisms of Change Following Psychological Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Alcohol Use Disorder, Alcohol Abuse, Alcohol Drinking, Alcohol Dependence

In brief

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a significant public health problem, with prevalence rates of 13.9% for current and 29.1% for lifetime diagnosis (Grant et al., 2015). AUD creates harm at the individual, familial, and societal level, with an estimated societal cost of $249 billion (Sacks et al., 2015) per year. The course of AUD typically is characterized by periods of relapse to problematic drinking (Maisto et al., 2014), signaling a need for better treatments and understanding of mechanisms of behavior change. The goal of this research is to conduct a randomized clinical trial with 140 participants who have an Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD). Each participant will complete behavioral assessments, self-report surveys and brain imaging before and after receiving psychotherapy treatment to change their drinking behaviors. Various aspects of behavior change will be looked at to better understand changes in brain function and emotional reactivity when someone changes their patterns of alcohol use. The two treatment used in this study have been found to be helpful in reducing alcohol use. Participants will be randomly assigned to either Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) or Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) that will be completed in 12 weekly therapy sessions. It is anticipated that there will be numerous changes in brain function that are found when someone reduces or stops their alcohol use after the completion of 12 weeks of treatment.

Key facts

Study ID: NCT03842670
Run by: University of New Mexico
People needed: 110
Starts: 2018-11-14
Expected to finish: 2025-03-31
Last updated by the study team: 2025-04-22

Who can join

Age: 22 and older, up to 85. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

Age 22-85 years
Self-identify as a heavy/binge/weekly drinker
Engage in "hazardous and harmful alcohol use" (Babor et al., 2001) based on an AUDIT score > 8 for men and > 7 for women
Breath alcohol level of 0.00 at in-person screening
Right handed
Explicitly be seeking help for their drinking
Alcohol use during the past 30 days

You may not qualify if…

History of brain injury or neurological diagnoses
Evidence of current psychosis
Past-year substance dependence other than nicotine or marijuana
Evidence of recent illicit drug (other than marijuana) use on a urine screen
Contraindications for MRI (e.g., medical devices in the body)
Female participants who think they may be pregnant must pass a urine pregnancy screen prior to each MRI scanning session
Estimated IQ < 80
Unable to read or speak English fluently
History of major alcohol withdrawal
Currently in treatment for alcohol use (or within the past 6 months)

Where it is running

The Mind Research Network — Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
The University of New Mexico — Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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