Impact of Cannabis Use and Abstinence on Emotion (ICAE)

Impact of Cannabis Withdrawal and Early Abstinence on Threat and Reward Processing

The goal of this experimental study is to test how three weeks of cannabis abstinence impacts threat and reward processing in females with Cannabis Use Disorder. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Compared to using cannabis as usual, will cannabis cue reactivity increase throughout three weeks of abstinence from cannabis?

Compared to using cannabis as usual, will threat reactivity be elevated at weeks 1 and 2 of abstinence followed by a decrease at week 3 of abstinence?

Compared to using cannabis as usual, will non-drug reward reactivity be lower at weeks 1 and 2 of abstinence followed by an increase at week 3 of abstinence?

Compared to successful 3-week abstainers, will threat, non-drug reward, and cannabis cue reactivity differ in relapsers?

Researchers will compare females with CUD who abstain from cannabis for three weeks to those who continue to use cannabis as usual to see how cannabis abstinence impacts threat and reward processing.

Participants will:

Be randomly assigned to continue using cannabis as usual or abstain from cannabis for three weeks Visit the lab 6 times over three weeks, followed by a 1-month follow-up lab visit for the participants assigned to the cannabis abstinence condition Complete phone surveys every other day across the three week study period

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Cannabis Use Disorder, Severe
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Contingency management for cannabis abstinence and lab visit attendance; Behavioral: Contingency management for lab visit attendance

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 30
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Florida
    • Tallahassee, Florida, United States, 32304
      • The BRAINS Lab in the Department of Psychology at Florida State University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• >=5 cannabis use days per week on average over the past 3 months
• Female
• >=6 past-year CUD symptoms (must include withdrawal and at least one criterion other than craving must be met within the past 3 months)
• >=20 days of cannabis use over the past 30 days
• Positive urinalysis for THC
• Cannabis is primary substance of abuse

Exclusion Criteria:

• Current pregnancy
• History of psychotic, seizure, or cardiovascular disorder
• Immediate plan to quit cannabis
• Current treatment for cannabis use
• Current daily psychotropic medication use
• Lotion allergy
• Positive urinalysis for any drug other than THC
• CSRSS >= 4
• Current moderate (4+ criteria) or severe (6+ criteria) substance use disorder (SUD) other than CUD or nicotine dependence
• CBD use >= 9 days

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Contingency Management for Cannabis Abstinence and Lab Visit Attendance; Participants randomly assigned to this arm will receive contingency management for three weeks to reinforce sustained abstinence from cannabis and attendance at all lab visits.	Behavioral: Contingency management for cannabis abstinence and lab visit attendance; Escalating monetary reinforcement is provided for continuous cannabis abstinence and lab visit attendance across the three week study period.
Other: Contingency Management for Lab Visit Attendance; Participants randomly assigned to this arm will receive contingency management for three weeks to reinforce attendance at all lab visits. Participants will continue to use cannabis as usual.	Behavioral: Contingency management for lab visit attendance; Escalating monetary reinforcement is provided for lab visit attendance across the three week study period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Late Positive Potential	The Late Positive Potential (neural measure recorded via electroencephalography) will be quantified from ~400 to 3000ms at central-parietal sensors relative to the onset of a cannabis, neutral, unpleasant, or pleasant image. The Late Positive Potential to cannabis vs. neutral and cannabis vs. pleasant will be the primary contrasts of interest.	Baseline, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, and (for contingency management abstinence group only) One-Month Follow-Up
Reward Positivity	The Reward Positivity (neural measure recorded via electroencephalography) will be quantified from ~200-300ms at frontal-central sensors relative to the onset of monetary win and loss feedback. The win vs. loss contrast will be the primary outcome of interest.	Baseline, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, and (for contingency management abstinence group only) One-Month Follow-Up
Eyeblink Startle Response	The Eyeblink Startle Response (recorded via EMG sensors) will be quantified as the peak blink amplitude relative to the onset of an auditory startle probe during blocks with predictable shocks, unpredictable shocks, and no threat of shock. The Eyeblink Startle Response during unpredictable shock threat vs. no shock threat will be the primary contrast of interest.	Baseline, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, and (for contingency management abstinence group only) One-Month Follow-Up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Delta Power	Delta Power (neural time-frequency measure recorded via electroencephalography) will be quantified as event-related spectral power from 1-3.5Hz at frontal-central sensors relative to the onset of monetary win and loss feedback. The win vs. loss contrast will be the primary outcome of interest.	Baseline, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, and (for contingency management abstinence group only) One-Month Follow-Up
Delta Intertrial Phase Coherence	Delta Intertrial Phase Coherence (neural time-frequency measure recorded via electroencephalography) will be quantified as intertrial phase coherence of 1-3.5Hz oscillations at frontal-central sensors relative to the onset of monetary win and loss feedback. The win vs. loss contrast will be the primary outcome of interest.	Baseline, Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, and (for contingency management abstinence group only) One-Month Follow-Up

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Florida State University
• Collaborators: Auburn University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 24, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): July 15, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): July 15, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 30, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 30, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): August 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 5, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 30, 2026
• Last Verified: July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: AUIRB#20-217FB

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No