NCT05507814

Temporal Window and Episodic Future Thinking in CUD

Test Reinforcer Pathology Via Manipulation of the Temporal Window With Successive Episodic Future Thinking Generation.

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 141 (actual)
• Sponsor: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The primary objective is to test the theory of Reinforcer Pathology via manipulation of the temporal window with successive Episodic Future Thinking generation in individuals with cocaine use disorder.

Detailed description

Adults with cocaine use disorder will be randomly assigned to experimental or control groups, stratified by polydrug use disorder, SES, and sex. The experimental group will compare episodic future thinking (EFT) to control episodic thinking (CET). The study procedures will include a baseline session (S1) and a 4-week intervention period where participants will return to the lab three times a week. Participants will generate new EFT and CET events at approximately weekly intervals. The EFT or CET events will be texted to them twice daily with urine samples obtained thrice-weekly. To probe resistance to disruption, both groups will receive stress-inducing probes that shorten the temporal window after the first and last cue generation. During the first assessment visit (S2), participants will be randomized with stratification to generate either episodic future thinking (EFT) or control episodic thinking (CET) events and will undergo neuroimaging procedures. At the following session in S3, participants will be randomized to receive one of two stress probes (counterbalanced) or their respective control. Participants will be exposed to a stress probe or control at S3 and the corresponding narrative at the next visit, S4. S5 and S6 will begin with participants generating new EFT/CET events that will be used for that session and the following two sessions. S7, like S2, will begin with EFT/CET event generation and neuroimaging procedures. During the final two sessions (S8, S9), participants will be exposed to the other stress probe and control that they did not see during S3/S4.

Conditions

• Cocaine Use Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Episodic Future Thinking (EFT)	Participants will generate descriptions of vivid positive future events.
BEHAVIORAL	Control Episodic Thinking	Participants will generate descriptions of vivid positive future events.

Timeline

• Start date: 2022-11-30
• Primary completion: 2025-11-24
• Completion: 2025-11-24
• First posted: 2022-08-19
• Last updated: 2025-12-02

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States