Changing how the brain values cocaine to help people stop using
Official title: An Experimental Medicine Approach for the Mechanistic Understanding of Cocaine Use Disorder: Reinforcer Pathology
Funded at Virginia Polytechnic Inst and St Univ · NIH-11324584 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tries to change how people with cocaine use disorder think about future rewards so cocaine becomes less appealing.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Virginia Polytechnic Inst and St Univ NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Blacksburg, United States) |
| Project start | July 15, 2022 |
| Project end | April 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $681,235 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DA054216-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11324584 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with a diagnosis of cocaine use disorder who can attend lab visits and complete behavioral tasks and MRI scans are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without cocaine use disorder, those who cannot undergo MRI or complete behavioral tasks, or those with unstable medical or psychiatric conditions are unlikely to benefit from participation.
What this research studies
You would visit the lab for behavioral tasks that measure how much you prefer immediate drug-like rewards versus larger later rewards. The team will take brain scans to see which brain areas are involved and use computer models to explain those choices. They will try interventions such as episodic future thinking (guided exercises to imagine positive future events) to lengthen your time horizon and reduce cocaine valuation. The work aims to find practical ways to shift decision-making that could be turned into new treatments.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new behavior- and brain-based treatments that reduce craving and help people with cocaine use disorder cut down or stop using.
How similar studies have gone: Prior smaller studies show episodic future thinking can lower delay discounting and reduce drug valuation, but combining behavioral, neuroimaging, and computational approaches for cocaine use disorder is a newer and more comprehensive approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Virginia Polytechnic Inst and St Univ
Blacksburg, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Laconte, Stephen M — Virginia Polytechnic Inst and St Univ
- Study coordinator: Laconte, Stephen M
Related research
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A new ASO-based approach aims to deliver gene-targeting therapy across the blood–brain barrier to help people with cocaine use disorder.
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Accelerated TMS for Cocaine Use Disorder
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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.