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Matching Treatments to Cognitive Deficits in Offenders With Substance Use Disorders
Who can join
Ages 18 to 55 · Men
Full eligibility criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Currently incarcerated * No uncorrectable auditory or visual deficits * Able to speak and/or understand English * 5th grade reading level or higher * IQ score = 80 or above * Lifetime history of substance use disorder based on DSM criteria * No history of dementia or other cognitive disability * No indication of current psychotic disorder * No major medical illness or CNS disease * Scores from the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) meet criteria for one of the designated treatment groups Exclusion Criteria: \-
About the study
The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate the effect of two types of cognitive remediation training on real-world behavioral outcomes including substance use, institutional adjustment, and recidivism following release from prison. Each training type is designed to target one of two subtypes of antisocial criminal offenders, who are characterized by either: 1) Attention to context-based deficits, or 2) Affective cognitive control-based deficits.
The main questions it aims to answer are:
Does matching deficit type with targeted cognitive training improve outcomes (relative to mismatched training)? What are the functional brain mechanisms that underlie treatment change?
Participants will:
Be assigned to cognitive training that either does or does not match their deficit type.
Complete six one-hour sessions of cognitive skills training. Complete pre and post-training behavioral tasks assessing self-regulation deficits.
Complete structural MRI scans and functional MRI scans assessing cognitive control.
Complete post-treatment follow-up assessments evaluating self-regulation, adjustment, and stressful life events, substance use and recidivism.
What is being tested
- Attention to Context (ATC) training (behavioral)
- Affective Cognitive Control (ACC) training (behavioral)
Sponsor: The Mind Research Network · Participants: 288 · Started: Mar 18, 2025
Contact the study team
- Carla Harenski · Phone: 505-272-5028
Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT06981351
Locations in the U.S.
| New Mexico | Mind Research Network/Lovelace Biomedical Research Institute, Albuquerque |
From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 30, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.