If you currently use drugs like marijuana, heroin, or cocaine or if you are seeking treatment for a substance use disorder or are currently in treatment for a substance use disorder, you might be able to join one of our research studies. It’s free to join, and you will be paid for your time and local travel. All study participants receive ongoing medical care while they are in the study to monitor their health and safety.
People with addictions often find it hard to choose the long-term benefits of abstinence over the short-term effects of using drugs. Based on studies in lab animals and humans, we think this is partly due to parts of the brain involved in certain types of learning and decision-making. We can test these basic functions using a simple task with pictures and odors.
The purpose of this study is to see whether performance in a learning task differs between people who have opioid-use disorder and people who don’t.
You may be eligible for this study if you meet all these criteria:
Design:
This study takes place at the National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program (NIDA IRP) in Baltimore. It requires 1 visit for a lab session. The visit will take up to 5 hours.
Lab session. Before you come for the lab session, we’ll ask you not to eat or drink anything except water for at least 6 hours. When you get here:
The purpose of this study is to assess how iTBS (a type of non-invasive brain stimulation) affects brain function, thinking, decision-making and cocaine use. This study is accepting men and women who are 18 to 60 years of age, have a cocaine use disorder and are in generally good health.
Participation will include multiple study visits over the course of 35 weeks. Some visits will last up to 8 hours, but most will be between 1-3 hours in length.
For research purposes, participants will:
This study takes place at the NIDA Intramural Research Program located on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus in east Baltimore. There is no cost for participation and participants are paid for their time and travel.
Research shows that the environment is important in shaping who we are. Not much is known about how to measure the effects of stress from the environment. In this study we are developing methods to study how the environment may influence stress and drug use. We will also study the effects of genes on stress and drug use.
The main purpose of this study is to develop ways to measure how drug use and stress are affected by people’s neighborhood surroundings. To help us do this, we also need to measure differences in how people respond to stress in a lab setting.
Who Can Be In This Study: People between 18 and 75 who use heroin or other opioids, live or spend most of their time in or around Baltimore, are seeking treatment for opioid dependence, and can come to the Archway clinic three days a week.
Design:
In total, the study will last 30 weeks (about 7 months). You’ll be maintained on buprenorphine/naloxone (referred to as “buprenorphine” in this consent form) at Archway Clinic. You will come to the Archway Clinic
two or three days a week and take-home medications for the other days. You will have to bring in a lockbox to show us that you can safely store the take-homes.
Weeks 1, 2 and 3 of Baseline Phase.
This research study seeks volunteers who are dependent on opioids like heroin, hydrocodone, fentanyl, methadone, or oxycodone and are receiving or not receiving treatment for their addiction. The purpose of this research study is to learn how opiate use disorder affects dopamine signaling in the brain.
Participants must be 18 - 65 years of age who are receiving or not receiving treatment for OUD. Participation includes one day for screening and up to three days for tests and procedures. Participants will have positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Participants will do tasks on a computer screen while inside the scanner and will have tests of memory, attention, and thinking. Participants will wear an activity monitor for one week. You may not be eligible if you are pregnant of breastfeeding, have a psychiatric illness or condition, such as major depression, addiction, PTSD or schizophrenia that required medication or hospitalization.
There is no cost for study-related tests and procedures.
For more details, call NIH Clinical Center Office of Patient Recruitment at 1-800-411-1222 1-800-411-1222.
NIDA also partners with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) in Bethesda, Maryland, to conduct research studies to help better understand substance use and improve treatment.