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NCT Number: NCT05845333

Neurocognitive Abnormalities in Stimulant Abuse Among High-Risk Women

Substance use disorders and psychopathy are serious and costly mental health issues. Psychopathy is known to be associated with aberrant moral decision making and there is considerable interest in determining whether substance use disorders lead to impairments in these same cognitive processes. Recent large-scale research initiatives in forensic settings have begun to identify substance abuse and psychopathy-related disruption in the neural mechanisms involved in moral decision-making processes, and associations between these neural networks and future relapse and antisocial behavior. Here the investigators extend prior work (with incarcerated men) to examine these issues among incarcerated women in order to better understand sex differences. This project addresses the overall lack of neurocognitive research in criminal offenders with substance use disorders, thereby focusing on a major public health issue in an underserved and understudied population.

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Key information

Conditions

Stimulant Abuse Behavior Criminal Behavior

Age range

18 year–70 year

Sex eligibility

Female

Study type

Observational

Primary location

The Mind Research Network

Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87106, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Carla Harenski

CONTACT

[email protected]

505-272-5028

About this study

There continues to be great interest and public health relevance with regard to understanding the neurobiological systems that underlie the comorbidity of substance use disorders and other psychiatric conditions. In a previous award, efforts were focused upon characterizing the neural circuitry underlying moral decision making in incarcerated men with varying levels of two frequently co-occurring conditions: stimulant abuse and psychopathy. Here this work will be extended to incarcerated women, to examine longitudinal outcomes and apply state-of-the-art network analyses for predictive models. Prior studies have demonstrated sex differences in the degree and expression of psychopathic traits, patterns of stimulant abuse, and moral decision-making. However, the neural circuitry that underlies these sex differences is not well understood. Substantial sex differences in regional gray matter volume and density in extant samples have also been identified. Collectively, sex differences in pathophysiology could have significant implications for treatment strategies and differential biomarkers of treatment prediction and outcome in men and women. The investigators will implement the research strategy with a large incarcerated population by deploying a unique mobile MRI scanner to the regional women's prison. Participants will be stratified by level of lifetime stimulant (cocaine, amphetamine) use severity and psychopathic traits (high, medium, low) and will undergo anatomical and functional MRI scanning while completing multi-modal (i.e., linguistic and picture) decision-making tasks. Results will be compared to those obtained in a prior award (incarcerated men, n>300). Functional network and dynamic network connectivity will also be examined in women using a new multiband echo planar imaging (EPI) pulse sequence, and longitudinal outcomes after release to the community will be collected to test behavioral and neuropredictive models of relapse and future antisocial behavior. This work is expected to generate a large, robust dataset that characterizes the overlapping and unique aspects of neural circuitry underlying stimulant use and psychopathy in females and males. The proposed research is in line with recent priorities emphasized by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for projects aimed at examining male-female differences, and effects specific to females, to improve understanding of the nature and etiology of drug abuse.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Biological sex is female
  • Intelligence Quotient 70 or higher
  • Reading level 5th grade or higher
  • Able to speak and understand English

Exclusion criteria

  • Uncorrectable auditory or visual deficits
  • Currently pregnant
  • MRI contraindication
  • Central nervous system disease
  • Current major medical condition
  • Hypertension with complications (e.g., stroke)
  • Diabetes with complications
  • Lifetime history of psychotic disorder
  • Self-report of psychotic disorder (with psychiatric hospitalization) in first degree relative
  • Drug use in past three months

(Healthy controls only):

  • History of arrest
  • Substance use beyond light alcohol or marijuana use
  • Currently taking psychotropic medications

Treatment and study plan

Decision task

Other

Participants will complete a simple and/or moral decision making functional MRI task.

Primary outcomes

  1. Gray matter volume during MRI scan & stimulant use

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Gray matter volume (using relevant MRI analysis platforms - Statistical Parametric Mapping/SPM) correlation with stimulant use (assessed using a modified version of the Addiction Severity Index)

  2. White matter integrity during MRI scan & stimulant use

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    White matter integrity (using relevant MRI analysis platforms - Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain software library (FSL)) correlation with stimulant use (assessed using a modified version of the Addiction Severity Index)

  3. Functional brain response during MRI scan & stimulant use during simple linguistic decision task

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Functional brain responses (Blood Oxygen Level Dependent/BOLD) (using relevant MRI analysis platforms - SPM, Group Independent Components Analysis Functional Toolbox/GIFT) during Simple Linguistic Decision Task correlation with stimulant use (assessed using a modified version of the Addiction Severity Index)

  4. Functional brain response during MRI scan & stimulant use during simple picture decision task

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Functional brain responses (Blood Oxygen Level Dependent/BOLD) (using relevant MRI analysis platforms - SPM, Group Independent Components Analysis Functional Toolbox/GIFT) during Simple Picture Decision Task correlation with stimulant use (assessed using a modified version of the Addiction Severity Index)

  5. Functional brain response during MRI scan & stimulant use during moral linguistic decision task

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Functional brain responses (Blood Oxygen Level Dependent/BOLD) (using relevant MRI analysis platforms - SPM, Group Independent Components Analysis Functional Toolbox/GIFT) during Moral Linguistic Decision Task correlation with stimulant use (assessed using a modified version of the Addiction Severity Index)

  6. Functional brain response during MRI scan & stimulant use during moral picture decision task

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Functional brain responses (Blood Oxygen Level Dependent/BOLD) (using relevant MRI analysis platforms - SPM, Group Independent Components Analysis Functional Toolbox/GIFT) during Moral Picture Decision Task correlation with stimulant use (assessed using a modified version of the Addiction Severity Index)

  7. Functional connectivity during MRI scan & stimulant use during simple linguistic decision task

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Functional connectivity (using relevant analysis MRI platforms - GIFT) during Simple Linguistic Decision Task correlation with stimulant use (assessed using a modified version of the Addiction Severity Index)

  8. Functional connectivity during MRI scan & stimulant use during simple picture decision task

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Functional connectivity (using relevant analysis MRI platforms - GIFT) during Simple Linguistic Decision Task correlation with stimulant use (assessed using a modified version of the Addiction Severity Index)

  9. Functional connectivity during MRI scan & stimulant use during moral linguistic decision task

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Functional connectivity (using relevant analysis MRI platforms - GIFT) during Moral Linguistic Decision Task correlation with stimulant use (assessed using a modified version of the Addiction Severity Index)

  10. Functional connectivity during MRI scan & stimulant use during moral picture decision task

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Functional connectivity (using relevant analysis MRI platforms - GIFT) during Moral Picture Decision Task correlation with stimulant use (assessed using a modified version of the Addiction Severity Index)

  11. Gray matter volume during MRI scan & psychopathic traits

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Gray matter volume (using relevant MRI analysis platforms - Statistical Parametric Mapping/SPM) correlation with psychopathic traits (assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised)

  12. White matter integrity during MRI scan & psychopathic traits

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    White matter integrity (using relevant MRI analysis platforms - Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain software library (FSL)) correlation with psychopathic traits (assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised)

  13. Functional brain response during MRI scan & psychopathic traits during simple linguistic decision task

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Functional brain responses (Blood Oxygen Level Dependent/BOLD) (using relevant MRI analysis platforms - SPM, Group Independent Components Analysis Functional Toolbox/GIFT) during Simple Linguistic Decision Task correlation with psychopathic traits (assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised)

  14. Functional brain response during MRI scan & psychopathic traits during simple picture decision task

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Functional brain responses (Blood Oxygen Level Dependent/BOLD) (using relevant MRI analysis platforms - SPM, Group Independent Components Analysis Functional Toolbox/GIFT) during Simple Picture Decision Task correlation with psychopathic traits (assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised)

  15. Functional brain response during MRI scan & psychopathic traits during moral linguistic decision task

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Functional brain responses (Blood Oxygen Level Dependent/BOLD) (using relevant MRI analysis platforms - SPM, Group Independent Components Analysis Functional Toolbox/GIFT) during Moral Linguistic Decision Task correlation with psychopathic traits (assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised)

  16. Functional brain response during MRI scan & psychopathic traits during moral picture decision task

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Functional brain responses (Blood Oxygen Level Dependent/BOLD) (using relevant MRI analysis platforms - SPM, Group Independent Components Analysis Functional Toolbox/GIFT) during Moral Picture Decision Task correlation with psychopathic traits (assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised)

  17. Functional connectivity during MRI scan & psychopathic traits during simple linguistic decision task

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Functional connectivity (using relevant analysis MRI platforms - GIFT) during Simple Linguistic Decision Task correlation with psychopathic traits (assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised)

  18. Functional connectivity during MRI scan & psychopathic traits during simple picture decision task

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Functional connectivity (using relevant analysis MRI platforms - GIFT)) during Simple Picture Decision Task correlation with psychopathic traits (assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised)

  19. Functional connectivity during MRI scan & psychopathic traits during moral linguistic decision task

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Functional connectivity (using relevant analysis MRI platforms - GIFT) during Moral Linguistic Decision Task correlation with psychopathic traits (assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised)

  20. Functional connectivity during MRI scan & psychopathic traits during moral picture decision task

    Time frame: During MRI procedure

    Functional connectivity (using relevant analysis MRI platforms - GIFT) during Moral Picture Decision Task correlation with psychopathic traits (assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised)

  21. Relapse to/change in stimulant use post-release

    Time frame: Every 3 months post release for duration of grant (5 years)

    Return to stimulant use (assessed using timeline follow back calendar (TLFB)) post-release from incarceration

  22. Return to/change in antisocial behavior post-release

    Time frame: Every 3 months post release for duration of grant (5 years)

    Return to antisocial behavior (assessed via self report and/or official records) post-release from incarceration

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Carla Harenski

CONTACT

[email protected]

505-272-5028

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

The Mind Research Network

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2022
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
May 6, 2023
Registry last updated
May 8, 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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