Approach-avoidance training to help veterans recover from alcohol problems
Official title: Enhancing treatment outcomes among veterans with alcohol use disorder: Clinical and neural markers of adjunctive approach-avoidance training
Funded at VA San Diego Healthcare System · NIH-11220689 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests a computer program that trains Veterans with alcohol use disorder to reduce automatic approach toward alcohol and support recovery alongside their usual care.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | VA San Diego Healthcare System NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Diego, United States) |
| Project start | October 1, 2022 |
| Project end | September 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| NIH project number | 5I01RX003793-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11220689 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are Veterans diagnosed with alcohol use disorder who are receiving or willing to receive treatment at the VA and can attend computer sessions and occasional brain scans.
✕Less likely to help
People without alcohol use disorder, non-veterans, or those unable or unwilling to do computer training or attend in-person visits (including imaging) are unlikely to benefit.
What this research studies
If you are a Veteran receiving treatment for alcohol use disorder, researchers will add a computer-delivered approach-avoidance training (AAT) to your usual care to retrain automatic responses to alcohol cues. The program asks you to repeatedly push away images of alcohol and pull neutral images while researchers measure changes in behavior and brain responses linked to approach bias. Participants will complete questionnaires, drinking logs, and brain imaging sessions to track cravings, relapse, and day-to-day functioning. The team will look at whether AAT helps Veterans, including those with common co-occurring problems, regain work, social, and daily activities.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could lower relapse risk, reduce cravings, and help Veterans regain work, social, and daily functioning.
How similar studies have gone: Previous trials of approach-avoidance training have shown promise in reducing alcohol approach bias and improving drinking outcomes when added to standard care, but this work applies the approach specifically to Veterans and examines brain markers.
Where this research is happening
-
VA San Diego Healthcare System
San Diego, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Spadoni Townsend, Andrea — VA San Diego Healthcare System
- Study coordinator: Spadoni Townsend, Andrea
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.