Marijuana Approach Bias Retraining and Neural Response in Youth

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Alcohol Approach/Avoidance Task; Sham Approach/Avoidance Task
• Interventions: Behavioral: Marijuana Approach Avoidance Training

• Registration Number: NCT02723149
• Lead Sponsor: Medical University of South Carolina

Brief Summary

This study aims to determine if a marijuana (MJ) Approach Avoidance Task (AAT) intervention reduces cannabis use compared to a control condition containing no active components of AAT. Adolescent heavy MJ users (N=40, ages 16-21) will be randomly assigned to MJ-AAT (n=20) or control condition (MJ-Sham, n=20) for three weeks. The MJ-AAT includes six sessions designed to reduce action tendencies to approach marijuana. The MJ-Sham includes six MJ-AAT-sham conditions. Substance use and cognitive assessment will identify changes in MJ use patterns and mechanisms of treatment outcomes. Additionally, using an functional magnetic resonance imaging marijuana cue reactivity task, we will determine differences in neural response in reward regions before and after 3 weeks of either AAT or sham treatment.

Detailed Description

Not available

Basic Information
|
Recruitment & Eligibility
|
Study & Design
|
Trial Locations

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2015-11
• Study First Submitted: 2016-03-14
• Study First Submitted QC: 2016-03-23
• Study First Posted: 2016-03-30
• Primary Completion: 2016-06
• Study Completion: 2017-10
• Status Verified: 2018-09
• Last Update Submitted: 2018-09-26
• Last Update Posted: 2018-09-28

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 41

Inclusion Criteria

• between age 16 and 21
• having >50 lifetime marijuana use episodes and a pattern of at least weekly marijuana use for the past year (>1+/week for 52 weeks) at study entry.

Read More

Exclusion Criteria

• not having a parent to consent (for those under age 18)
• prenatal alcohol (>2 drinks on an occasion or >4 drinks in a week) or any tobacco or illicit drug exposure
• premature birth (<34 weeks gestation), birth weight <5 lbs, or other gestational or perinatal complications
• history of a serious medical or neurological problems that could affect blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response, brain development, or study participation, including diabetes and recurrent migraine
• current severe Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) major Axis I psychiatric disorder (i.e., exclude participants with bipolar disorder, psychotic disorder)
• use of any illicit substance (e.g., cocaine, methamphetamines) other than alcohol or marijuana > 100 times
• history of major neurological disorder or head trauma (with loss of consciousness >10 minutes)
• history of learning disability, pervasive developmental disorder, or other condition requiring special education
• current use of medications that affect cerebral blood flow
• non-correctable visual or hearing problems
• non-fluent in English
• MRI contraindications (e.g., braces, claustrophobia, irremovable metal implants or piercings)
• pregnant on day of scan
• intake of psychoactive medication as tested by urine drug screen.

Read More

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Approach Avoidance Training Condition	Marijuana Approach Avoidance Training	The AAT group will push away the joystick from marijuana pictures 90% of the trials and pull towards the marijuana pictures 10% of the trials.
Sham Condition	Marijuana Approach Avoidance Training	The sham group will undergo the same procedures, except the ratio for marijuana pictures will be 50% push and 50% pull.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in marijuana approach tendencies (via Approach Avoidance Assessment Task) as measured by reaction times.	3 weeks
Change in short-term marijuana use from baseline to 1 month post-intervention	From 60 days before intervention to 1 month post-intervention	Assessing the short-term effects of intervention on marijuana use (as measured by number of days used marijuana X hits per day) from baseline to 1 month post-intervention.
Change in marijuana use from baseline through end of intervention	From 60 days before intervention to end of 3 week intervention	Assessing the change in marijuana use (as measured by number of days used marijuana X hits per day) from baseline to end of intervention.
Change in neural reactivity (as measured by BOLD: Blood Oxygen Level-Dependent response) in reward regions during marijuana-cue reactivity task	3 weeks	Assessing the change in neural reactivity to marijuana cues before and after the intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in long-term marijuana use from baseline to 1 year post-treatment	From 60 days before intervention to 1 year post-intervention	Assessing the long-term effects of intervention on marijuana use (as measured by number of days used marijuana X hits per day) from baseline to 1 year post-intervention.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Medical University of South Carolina; 🇺🇸 Charleston, South Carolina, United States