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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT06283446

Enhancing Prospective Thinking in Early Recovery (NERF)

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the prosocial effects of personally-relevant, high-intensity episodic future-thinking (EFT) cues in alcohol use disorder persons and related brain mechanisms. The main question[s] this trial aims to answer are:

Will high-intensity EFT cues will produce greater delayed reward preference than low-intensity cues? Will high-intensity EFT cues effect greater treatment-seeking interest? Will high-intensity EFT cues elicit greater response in regions for prospective thinking during delay discounting (vs. low-intensity) Will nucleus accumbens-precuneus resting connectivity correlate with behavioral SS? Will the novel behavioral SS decision-making task activate the nucleus accumbens? Researchers will compare the experimental (high-intensity group) and control (low-intensity) groups to see if there are differences in the results for the questions outlined above.

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Key information

Conditions

Alcohol Use Disorder Alcohol-Related Disorders Alcoholism Chemically-Induced Disorders Mental Disorders Substance-Related Disorders

Age range

18 year–60 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Indiana University School of Medicine - Goodman Hall

Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Abstinence between 30 days ≤ 1 year
  • Verbal endorsement of commitment to recovery
  • English comprehension

Exclusion criteria

  • Unstable medical disorders
  • Outside the age range of 18-60
  • Habitual substance or alcohol use
  • Smell/taste disorders
  • Unstable psychiatric conditions

Treatment and study plan

High-Intensity Cue

Behavioral

Participants in the high-intensity group will receive high-intensity image cues that represent self-reported events they did on the previous day and self-reported events they look forward to in the future.

Low-Intensity Cue

Behavioral

Participants in the low-intensity group will receive low-intensity image cues that represent self-reported events they did on the previous day and self-reported events they look forward to in the future.

Primary outcomes

  1. Increase Prospective Thinking

    Time frame: [Time Frame: Study Day Visit (Day 1)]

    High-intensity episodic future-thinking image cues will increase prospective thinking.

  2. Delayed Rewards

    Time frame: [Time Frame: Study Day Visit (Day 1)]

    High-intensity episodic future-thinking image cues will change preference for delayed rewards, which will be measured using a behavioral delayed discounting task.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Indiana University

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Registry information

Official study title

Enhancing Prospective Thinking in Early Recovery

Acronym: NERF

Important dates

Study start
2023
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Feb 28, 2024
Registry last updated
Nov 26, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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