Brain training may restore joy in opioid recovery
NCT ID NCT07768007
First seen Aug 17, 2026 · Last updated Sep 15, 2026 · Updated 5 times
Summary
This study tests whether a brain-training technique called neurofeedback can help people with opioid use disorder who are on methadone feel more pleasure and recall positive memories. Participants learn to control their brain activity using real-time fMRI scans, a method that has shown promise in depression. The goal is to see if this approach is tolerable and to gather early data on its effects.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rt-fMRI) neurofeedback
- What this could lead to
- If this works, it could offer a non-drug way to ease anhedonia and improve quality of life for people recovering from opioid use disorder.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early feasibility study with only a few participants, so results may not apply broadly. The intervention may be hard to tolerate or may not reduce anhedonia in this population.
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 3 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2026
- 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 50 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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: * ≥3 months of methadone treatment for OUD * Presence of anhedonia, as assessed via SHAPS * Room for improvement in specific autobiographical memory recall, as assessed via AMT Exclusion Criteria: * Failure to pass an MRI screening * Women who are pregnant * Psychosis, as assessed via Yale PRIME Early Psychosis Screening Test * Serious suicidal ideation * Serious medical condition * Legally blind
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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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APT Foundation
RECRUITINGNew Haven, Connecticut, 06520, United States
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