The purpose of this study is to examine anhedonia as a potential moderator of treatment outcomes for Cocaine Use Disorder (CUD). Specifically, this study will investigate how anhedonia affects outcomes in contingency management (CM) treatment for CUD and whether anhedonia mediates the effects of adjunctive treatment with a dopaminergic (DAergic) drug, d-amphetamine, on outcomes in CM for CUD, as well as investigate the contribution of anhedonia to overall CUD severity.
Recent research suggests that anhedonia is a key neurobehavioral dysfunction in Cocaine Use Disorder (CUD) that contributes to treatment outcomes. Anhedonia, defined here as lack of interest or pleasure in non-drug rewards, is frequently found in CUD and is related to neural deficits, such as low striatal dopamine and deficient activation to non-drug rewards in mesocortical circuits. Interestingly, not all individuals in CUD have these deficits. Preliminary data suggests that the presence of self-reported anhedonia predicts worse outcome in contingency management (CM) treatment of CUD. Moreover, low baseline dopamine predicts failure to attain abstinence in CM while medications that enhance DA increase CM success rates and responsiveness to rewards. This study specifically aims to test the contribution of anhedonia to overall CUD severity, the relationship of anhedonia to outcomes in CM treatment, and the mediating role of anhedonia in medication enhancement of CM in CUD. To accomplish these aims, individuals with CUD will be enrolled and will undergo 4 weeks of intensive CM treatment, either with or without treatment with the dopaminergic drug, d-amphetamine. A medication only group will be included to solely measure the effects of d-amphetamine. Anhedonia will be assessed using multi-modal subjective, psychophysiological and behavioral measures of reward functioning at baseline, and each week of treatment. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measures of reward functioning will also be taken at baseline and week 4 in a subset of participants (n = 24)
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
57
Participants in this group will receive 60 mg of d-amphetamine daily for 4 weeks. There will be a 1 week run up dosing and a 1 week run-down medication period.
Contingency management is an established cocaine use disorder treatment in which individuals receive monetary rewards for abstinence.
60 mg of riboflavin and cornstarch as needed.
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Number of Participants Who Were Cocaine Abstinent as Assessed by Urine Screening (Measure of Treatment Efficacy)
Subjects will complete a urine drug screen each visit. Achievement of cocaine abstinence will be defined as two consecutive weeks of cocaine-negative urine samples.
Time frame: At end of active treatment (Treatment week 4)
Cocaine Negative Urine Samples
Subjects will complete a urine drug screen each visit (3x weekly). The Treatment Effectiveness Score is defined as the total number of cocaine negative urines across the 4 weeks of treatment (possible total of 12).
Time frame: At end of active treatment (Treatment week 4)
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