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Neurofeedback & Alcohol Dependence

NCT02486900 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 52

Last updated 2019-02-01

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The study aims to examine whether the neurofeedback method (based on functional magnetic resonance imaging \[fMRI\]) can help patients with alcohol dependence to control their urges to drink alcohol and thus to remain abstinent. Potential effects of neurofeedback on abstinence and drinking behaviour will be evaluated based on the comparison between a group of patients receiving multiple sessions of neurofeedback training and a group of patients receiving treatment as usual over the same period of time.

Conditions

  • Alcohol Dependence

Interventions

DEVICE

fMRI-based neurofeedback

During scanning patients will be exposed to picture stimuli (showing alcoholic drinks and life goals) projected on a screen behind the scanner and viewed through a mirror attached on the MRI head coil. In each session patients will be trained to down-regulate/up-regulate activation levels in brain areas that show reliable responses to the alcohol/life goals pictures in a 'localiser' scan. Self-regulation of these brain responses will then be guided by real-time feedback of alcohol/life goals-cue elicited activation, consisting of changes in the visible alcohol/life goals picture (decreasing size = successful down-regulation; increasing size = successful upregulation). Functional MRI data will be acquired in short blocks having a duration of 5-8 minutes.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Principal Investigators

  • David Linden, MD · Cardiff University

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2015-09-30
Primary Completion
2018-01-31
Completion
2018-08-31

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

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Entities

Companies

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT02486900 on ClinicalTrials.gov