NCT03764969

Modification of Goal-directed and Habitual Behavior in Addiction

Modification of the Imbalance Between Goal-directed and Habitual Behavior in Human Addiction

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 75 (actual)
• Sponsor: Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This study aims to examine the modification of the hypothesized imbalance between goal-directed and habitual behavior and its neural correlates in smokers. Two interventions will be used as add-on trainings to a smoking cessation program.

Detailed description

In this study, the investigators aim to assess the imbalance between goal-directed and habitual behavior, its neural basis and how it can be differentially modified in treatment-seeking smokers, using two training interventions. The first intervention is cognitive remediation treatment (CRT), also known as cognitive enhancement therapy, focusing on improving inhibitory control and executive functions. The second intervention, a computer-based habit-modifying training focusing on implicit drug seeking ("implicit computer-based habit-modifying training", ICHT) uses a conditioning approach through implicit priming and contextual modulation. Indicators of the imbalance will be examined with respect to reward devaluation, cue reactivity and a pavlovian instrumental transfer (PIT) paradigm. The investigators hypothesize that both interventions change the balance between goal-directed and habitual behavior but by different mechanisms. Whereas CRT should directly increase cognitive control, in contrast, ICHT should affect the early processing and the emotional valence of smoking and smoking cues.

Conditions

• Tobacco Use Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	standard smoking cessation program (SCP)	Each subject will receive standard SCP as group treatment once a week (1 hour) over six weeks. This group therapy is based on behavioural therapy and a psycho-educational approach (for more details see Batra \& Buchkremer 2004), and will be carried out by a qualified therapist.
BEHAVIORAL	Cognitive remediation treatment (CRT)	Cognitive remediation treatment (CRT) employing a chess-based battery of tasks two times per week over six weeks as a group treatment in our outpatient clinic (60 min duration per session).
BEHAVIORAL	Implicit computer-based habit-modifying training (ICHT)	Implicit computer-based habit-modifying training (ICHT), applied twice a week for six weeks. In this training, the participants perform a two-part training. First, a subliminal presentation (20 ms) of negative valenced primes before smoking-cues in context and secondly, a subliminal presentation of positive valenced primes before potentially reinforcing events.

Timeline

• Start date: 2020-01-07
• Primary completion: 2023-06-23
• Completion: 2023-06-23
• First posted: 2018-12-05
• Last updated: 2023-10-05

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Germany