Project neuroARTEMIS

Summary

The purpose of this research is to understand how chronic stress affects the way our brain and immune systems function, and in turn how this affects the way people feel, think, and behave. By learning more about how these processes work, the hope is to be able to develop better treatments to help with problems like depression and substance use. This study is intended for individuals that are HIV positive, currently taking prescription antiretroviral medications, and use stimulants. Through this intervention, the aim is to determine if this positive affect intervention can lead to reductions in stimulant use and depressed mood.

Conditions

• Stimulant Use
• Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
• Depression

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

ARTEMIS

The ARTEMIS intervention includes 5 sessions delivered individually over Zoom across 3 months. The intervention teaches 9 positive affect skills: noting and capitalizing on positive events, gratitude journaling, formal and informal mindfulness, positive reappraisal and problem solving coping skills training, focusing on personal strengths, setting achievable goals, and small acts of kindness. Each session consists of a didactic portion with in vivo skills practice, and participants are asked to complete daily home practice of the skills between sessions.

BEHAVIORAL

Contingency management for Antiretroviral (ARV) adherence

All participants will received the contingency management (CM) intervention to support ARV adherence. They will use the Spotlight by Scene Health platform, a HIPAA-compliant mHealth application for directly observed therapy, to upload videos of ART adherence. The app records and uploads time-stamped videos of medication doses, which staff verify asynchronously. Participants will be paid for each verified dose and receive a weekly bonus if they complete 6 doses.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Florida International University

  collaborator OTHER

• National Institutes of Health (NIH)

  collaborator NIH

• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

  collaborator NIH

• Wake Forest University Health Sciences

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Christina S Meade, PhD · Wake Forest University Health Sciences

• Adam W Carrico, PhD · Florida International University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

59 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-04-29

Primary Completion

2028-05-31

Completion

2028-12-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations