Brain training may ease opioid addiction by rewiring memory
NCT ID NCT06643988
First seen Jul 10, 2026 · Last updated Jul 10, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether a four-week at-home memory training program called MemFlex can improve symptoms and brain function in people with opioid use disorder. Participants complete memory exercises and undergo brain and heart monitoring before and after training. The goal is to understand how memory relates to addiction and whether this approach can lead to better outcomes.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- MemFlex (cognitive training exercises)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a non-drug therapy to help people with opioid use disorder manage cravings and improve daily life.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early study with no placebo group, so results may not be generalizable. The training is experimental for this condition and may not produce meaningful benefits.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 30 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2025
- Expected to finish
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Feb 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 60 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Age 18 years to 60 years old. 2. Willingness to provide signed, informed consent and commit to completing study procedures 3. Subjects must be willing and able to comply with scheduled visits, treatment plan, laboratory tests, and other study procedures, and must have access to a cellphone. 4. OUD subjects: Lifetime self-reported history of OUD (according to DSM-5 criteria) 5. OUD subjects: On a stable dose (at least 2 weeks without change) of MOUD (e.g., buprenorphine, methadone) as confirmed by self-report, urine drug screening, and/or the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program database. 6. OUD subjects: Access to a stable residence or space to complete the at-home treatment module Exclusion Criteria: 1. Current severe psychiatric (e.g., bipolar disorder) or physical (e.g., dementia, Parkinson's disease) determined by self-reported history or physical exam and disorder deemed by PI to significantly interfere with brain function or make the study hazardous for the subject. 2. Head trauma or injury deemed by PI as likely to impact the prefrontal cortex (e.g., loss of consciousness for more than 30 minutes or skull fracture, intracranial bleeding, or abnormal MRI) as determined by self-reported history or physical exam. 3. Medical condition or medical treatment that may interfere with the subject's ability to complete the intervention, at discretion of the PI (e.g., extended surgery planned or expecting to give birth during the course of the study) 4. Inability to sit upright while remaining relatively still and operating a mouse and keypad. 5. Current ongoing participation in a research study or participation in a clinical trial and receipt of investigational drug(s) or intervention during 30 days prior to the research study, except as explicitly approved by the Principal Investigator. 6. Currently prescribed opioid medication for treatment of pain or other disorder (besides opioid use disorder). 7. OUD subjects: Past 1-year history of non-OUD substance use disorder (other than nicotine, alcohol, or cannabis use disorders). 8. OUD subjects: Positive urine drug screen for any tested substances except for opioids, cocaine, and cannabis at screening or the baseline assessment visit (a test may be repeated if it is needed to confirm accuracy). 9. HC subjects: Lifetime history of any substance use disorder (other than nicotine use disorder at any time and alcohol or cannabis use disorders more than 1 year ago). 10. HC subjects: Positive urine drug screen for any tested substances at screening or the baseline assessment visit (a test may be repeated if it is needed to confirm accuracy).
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Pennsylvania
RECRUITINGPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Digital toolkit aims to empower families in the opioid crisis
- Can a monthly shot beat daily pills for fentanyl users?