Effect of Music on Cue Reactivity for Patients With Opioid Use Disorder

March 3, 2026 updated by: Scott G. Weiner, MD, MPH, Brigham and Women's Hospital
This research is being performed to understand the role of music in people's opioid cravings, opioid use, and recovery. Music affects individuals in so many ways, and can trigger strong good and bad emotions. People listen when they are sad and want to feel happy, when they are with friends, when they exercise, and when they just want to pass the time. However, it is not known what role music plays in adding to or taking away cravings, and the role it has in drug use and addiction. In this study, the researchers want to learn if music can reduce cues that lead to cravings for opioids. The researchers also want to learn about subjects' relationship to music and how it contributes to drug use, recovery, and their life overall.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Opioid use disorder (OUD) presents a significant public health challenge, characterized by a complex interplay of biological, psychological, and environmental factors. One critical aspect of this disorder is cue reactivity, the phenomenon whereby exposure to drug-related cues trigger cravings and reinforce behaviors to use drugs. This study aims to explore the role of music as a potential modulator of cue reactivity in patients with OUD.

Music, with its profound emotional and psychological effects, may offer a unique avenue for intervention. Previous research has demonstrated that music can influence mood, reduce anxiety, and enhance emotional regulation. Listening to music may also attenuate nociceptive processing and change thresholds of pain tolerance. By examining how specific musical stimuli interact with drug-related cues, the researchers hope to identify whether music can serve as an adjunctive strategy or an emotional anchor that diminishes cravings associated with opioid cues. This research seeks to contribute to the development of innovative therapeutic strategies aimed at reducing relapse rates and promoting recovery among individuals struggling with OUD.

Through a carefully designed mixed methods experimental framework, the researchers will assess the effects of different musical genres on cue-induced cravings. It is anticipated that the findings will provide valuable insights into the potential of music as a complementary tool in the treatment of opioid use disorder, paving the way for more holistic and effective recovery approaches.

Specific Aim 1: To determine the effect of music on cue-induced craving for individuals with opioid use disorder compared to a control condition (silence).

Hypothesis 1: Compared to the control condition, listening to music will attenuate cue-induced craving as assessed on a 100-point VAS craving scale.

Specific Aim 2: Identify the role of music in people's use of opioids through individual interviews with study participants.

Hypothesis 2: There will be key themes that emerge related to people's use of opioids as well as in their treatment and recovery.

This is a donor-funded, open label, pilot, proof-of-concept study with two parts. The study will aim to randomize N=28 individuals (14 in control arm and 14 in intervention arm) who have a history of opioid use disorder. Individuals will be recruited from a variety of means including online study recruitment and through fliers stationed at MGB-affiliated addiction clinics (including the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital Bridge Clinics, the Faulkner Addiction Recovery Program, and the MGH West End clinic).

Participants who agree to participate in the study will come to the Center for Clinical Investigation (CCI) once. The entirety of the study for each participant entails one CCI visit.

In the first phase, participants will answer a demographic questionnaire and a variety of psychological assessments. They will answer a question pertaining to their degree of opioid craving at that moment, on a 100-point visual analog scale (VAS). They will then be randomized to listen to music (2 songs chosen by them, maximum 10 minutes) or 10 minutes of noise cancelation. Participants will then be shown a series of images related to opioid use. They will complete the craving scale again. They will be shown a series of neutral images that do not pertain to drug use, and the craving scale will be administered again. Finally, they will complete the Absorption in Music Scale.

The second phase, for all participants regardless of randomization in the first phase, will be a qualitative interview asking subjects about their relationship with music, and how music pertained to their past drug use and/or recovery. Researchers will also ask participants about their experience participating in the trial and potential strategies to expand music use and recommendations in clinical settings for OUD.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

28

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02459
        • Brigham and Women's Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults aged 18 years or older
  • Current diagnosis of opioid use disorder
  • Actively receiving buprenorphine or methadone treatment with a stable dose of at least 30 days

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any significant impairment in mental status that would interfere with the ability to provided informed consent including suicidality, homicidality, or psychosis.
  • Hearing impaired
  • Vision impaired
  • Patient reports that they are pregnant
  • Requiring the use of any prescription opioid analgesics during the trial
  • Currently prescribed naltrexone
  • Chronic pain, defined as pain on the numeric rating scale (0-10) of >3 every day for over 3 months.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: music
In this arm, subjects will rate their cravings for opioids on a 0-100 point visual analog scale. They will then listen to 2 songs of their choosing. They will then be shown a series of images "cues" related to drug use, and will again be asked their cravings for opioids.
Other: Music intervention
Subjects will listen to two songs of their choosing. They will be prompted: "Please choose two songs that you really enjoy and that make you feel relaxed or take away stress".
Placebo Comparator: silence
In this arm, subjects will rate their cravings for opioids on a 0-100 point visual analog scale. They will then listen to 10 minutes of silence. They will then be shown a series of images "cues" related to drug use, and will again be asked their cravings for opioids.
Other: Silence
Subjects will listen to 10 minutes of silence through high quality noise canceling headphones

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Opioid Cravings
Time Frame: on Day 1
Subjects will rank their craving for opioids on a 100-point Visual Analog Scale before and after being shown drug-related cues (images). The primary outcome will determine if there is a difference in craving levels in the music vs. silence groups.
on Day 1

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Brigham and Women's Hospital

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Scott G Weiner, MD, MPH, Brigham and Women's Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

April 20, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 28, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

February 28, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 20, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 21, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

April 29, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 4, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 3, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2025P000151

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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