Effect of CBT Microinterventions on Mechanisms of Behavior Change Among Adults With AUD

University of Massachusetts, Worcester83 enrolled

Overview

This proposed R21, Effect of CBT Microinterventions on Mechanisms of Behavior Change among Adults with AUD: Using Eye Tracking to Measure Pre-Post Cognitive Control, uses a translational team science approach to isolate and examine the effect of three different Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) interventions (functional analysis (FA), cognitive restructuring for alcohol related thoughts (CR), and dealing with cravings (DC)) on specific hypothesized mechanisms (cognitive control, stimulus salience, or craving/arousal, respectively).

This R21 uses an innovative paradigm pairing a "microintervention" design with eye tracking laboratory tasks used successfully to show deficits of cognitive control over cocaine and nicotine cues, and to objectively measure stimulus salience and craving/arousal in response to alcohol cues. To achieve the study's two specific aims, participants with AUD will be assessed with antisaccade (to measure cognitive control) and attentional bias (to measure stimulus salience and pupil diameter) eye tracking tasks. Specific Aim 1. To isolate and preliminarily assess the impact of specific CBT microinterventions on potentially malleable hypothesized mechanisms of change in drinking using a novel laboratory paradigm and conducted by a translational science team. Specific Aim 2. To test specificity of CBT interventions' effect on particular Mechanisms of Behavioral Change, the investigators will test each microintervention's effects on all three purported mechanisms (as stated in "Brief Summary".)

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Alcohol Use Disorder

Interventions

ControlBEHAVIORAL

60 minute psycho-education on alcohol and drugs.

Functional AnalysisBEHAVIORAL

Component of standard CBT that helps to "break the chain" of events (external and internal) that lead from cue (trigger) to alcohol use to consequences of use.

Cognitive RestructuringBEHAVIORAL

CR is used to to help identify and change automatic, habituated thoughts that occur in response to alcohol triggers.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18 or older * Current Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) Diagnosis * Drank Alcohol within 60 days prior to telephone screen * Able to read and understand English at the 7th grade education level Exclusion Criteria: * Participant diagnosed with Schizophrenia or Schizoaffective Disorder * Participant has a head injury with symptoms in the last 30 days * Current inpatient or outpatient treatment for AUD or Drug use Disorder (DUD)

Locations (1)

Elizabeth E Epstein

Worcester, Massachusetts, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Changes in Drinking Behavior

Changes in drinking behavior are measured by tracking eye movement patterns using antisaccade + attentional bias eyetracking tasks. Specifically, outcome mediators include changes in cognitive control (# of errors in antisaccade eye-tracking task), changes in stimulus salience (stimulus dwell time measurements), and changes in craving/arousal (pupil diameter changes in response to stimuli presentation.)

Time frame: Weekly for up to 3 weeks

Secondary Outcomes

Alcohol Use Questionnaire (AUQ)

AUQ is an 8-item questionnaire that measures self-reported craving for alcohol. Item scores range from 1-7 and a total score, ranging from 8-56, is calculated by summing all values. Higher scores indicate greater craving.

Time frame: Weekly for up to 3 weeks

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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