An interventional study of Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) and Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT) in Alcohol Dependence and Alcohol-Related Disorders, sponsored by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-02-12.
Sponsored by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
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Among 1,073 studies in Alcoholism with a site in United States — 187 open to participants now, 228 under way, 15 of them phase 3. Alcoholism · United States.
Among the 1,073 studies in Alcoholism with a site in United States, this one is the 430th largest by enrollment of the 989 interventional ones that give a count, is one of 41 that started in 2017, is one of 436 with no phase, and was the 581st registered.
1,676 studies on the registry are indexed under Alcoholism; 331 are open to participants now.
Browse Alcoholism studies →187 of the 1,073 studies in Alcoholism with a site in United States are open now. Recruiting first, the newest first:
Washington State University · Sites in United States
Ages 18+
University of Pennsylvania · Sites in United States
Ages 21–65
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) · Sites in United States
Ages 18–120
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) · Sites in United States
Ages 21–100 · Healthy volunteers
Johns Hopkins University · Sites in United States
Ages 18+
A study can be open while its sites in United States have not opened yet or have stopped. Only those recruiting at a site in United States →
Of the 237 Alcoholism studies recruiting now, 84 (35%) set no upper age limit and 131 (55%) stop at 75 or younger; 9 take children under 18; 64 take healthy volunteers.
This study: 18 Years to 65 Years · all sexes · healthy volunteers too.
The full table on the hub →This tab as a report to print or save as PDF → With an account.
1,073 studies; the count open now beside each. This study's row is marked.
A study in two phases is counted once above. Listed by phase, each with its combined phases: Phase 1 138 · Phase 2 312 · Phase 3 77 · Phase 4 96
First in 1992; this study’s year is marked. 41 started in 2017.
By drug class, each counting the studies that test any of its medicines:
This study's enrollment of 94 is close to the median of 88 across 1,430 interventional studies indexed under Alcoholism.
Median enrollment 80 across the 989 interventional studies, 109 across the 79 observational. Of the 778 that completed or were terminated, 370 (48%) have results posted.
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64 of 1,073 have an industry lead sponsor. The 10 most frequent:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is the lead sponsor of 127 studies on the registry; 28 are open to participants now.
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University has 6 studies filed under Alcoholism — fewer than ten, so there is no comparison to draw.
83 of the studies in Alcoholism with a site in United States that are under way reach primary completion within a year, 5 of them phase 3. Phase 3 first, then by date:
| Study | Primary completion |
|---|---|
| NCT06173973Phase 3University of PennsylvaniaEffects of Ketone Supplementation on Acute Alcohol Withdrawal | 2026-12 |
| NCT05015881Phase 3University of PennsylvaniaRelationship Between Brain and Heart Glucose Metabolism in Alcohol Use Disorder | 2026-12 |
| NCT04616781Phase 3University of PennsylvaniaKetone Ester Intervention in Alcohol Use Disorder | 2026-12 |
| NCT06702007Phase 3University of WashingtonElectronic Harm Reduction Treatment for Alcohol | 2027-01 |
| NCT05613608Phase 3University of Colorado, DenverAlcohol Use Disorder and Cannabidiol | 2027-04 |
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Among the 1,073 studies in Alcoholism with a site in United States, from their registry updates:
This tab as a report to print or save as PDF → With an account.
Nearly 18% of United States adults meet criteria for alcohol dependence sometime in their lifetime, with only 24% of those individuals ever receiving any treatment for their disorder (Hasin et al., 2007). The pervasiveness of alcohol dependence indicates a need for continued development of high-impact treatments that are both effective and easily disseminated to a broad population. Recent evidence indicates that Episodic Future Thinking (EFT), the ability to self-project and pre-experience a future event, can help individuals to make changes to habitual behaviors, such as alcohol drinking (Snider et al., 2016). In this study, the investigators will evaluate the efficacy of EFT to help individuals reduce alcohol consumption. The investigators anticipate that EFT will result in a reduction in alcohol consumption over a 2-week experimental period when compared to the control group.
After the initial consent and assessment sessions, participants will be asked to provide daily self-report assessments of previous-day drinking over cell phone for 7 days with no other study intervention taking place. The purpose for this baseline period is to quantify baseline drinking patterns and ensure that the participant reliably responds to and conveys study information via cell phone. At the end of this baseline period, participants who indicated adaquate patterns of drinking and successfully reported their level of drinking will be invited to continue in the study. Participants will return to the laboratory to be provided with a SOBERLINK breathalyzer and be given instruction in its use. The SOBERLINK device will automatically upload breathalyzer results, the participant's location, and the picture of the user to a centralized, secure website where the data will be available to research staff.
Participants will be counterbalanced to either the active or control group based on alcohol use (e.g., average drinks per day). Both groups will be exposed to the same treatment events. The intervention period will last for 14 consecutive days, with three breathalyzer screens per day. During this 14-day period as they did during the baseline period, participants will self-report their previous-day alcohol use daily with a text message and/or phone call. Assessment sessions will be conducted prior to the intervention, immediately following the intervention, and at a 1-month follow-up.
All participants will either be allowed to use their own personal cell phone for study communications or receive a prepaid cell phone with service through a nationwide cell phone service provider. The study-provided phones include usage controls, allowing us to restrict phone communication to a study phone and 911 service.
Throughout the intervention phase of the experiment, participants will be required to submit three daily breathalyzer assessments at the predetermined times. They will be reminded via text message when a sample is to be collected, and samples will be accepted up to 15 minutes before the scheduled time and 30-60 minutes after the scheduled time, giving the participant 45-75 minutes total to submit the sample.
Participants will be assigned to either the active Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) condition or the control Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT) condition. EFT participants will generate positive future events they are looking forward to and that could happen at different future time points (e.g., in 2 weeks, 1 month, 6 months, 1 year) and participants in the ERT condition will list positive recent events (events that have already happened) that they enjoyed that occurred at different past time points (e.g., 12 hours ago, 24 hours ago,1 week ago). Participants will be instructed to use and think about their episodic cues as they make decisions. All participants will be provided with a copy of their episodic cues to take home with them and will receive periodic text messages from research staff to remind them of their cues. In addition, each day, participants will be asked to report how many alcoholic drinks they consumed the previous day (from the time they awoke to the time they fell asleep). Participants will be allowed to report this information via text message or phone call. Participants will receive a reminder to report their previous-day drinking with text messages, followed by a phone call if they haven't contacted us by early evening.
Assessment sessions will be completed before the 14-day intervention period, immediately after the 14-day intervention period, and at a 1-month follow-up. Participants will complete a battery of questionnaires and tasks grouped into three general categories: measures of substance use (including a urine test for drug use and a breath sample to test for recent alcohol use), clinically relevant measures including treatment acceptability, and measures of alcohol value and sensitivity.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Individuals who are:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
DSM diagnostic criteria
The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Episodic Future Thinking (EFT) is the intervention in this arm. EFT participants will generate positive future events they are looking forward to and that could happen at different future time points (e.g., in 2 weeks, 1 month, 6 months, 1 year). Participants will be instructed to use and think about their episodic cues as they make decisions.
Behavioral: Episodic Future Thinking (EFT)
Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT) is the intervention in this arm. ERT participants will list positive recent events (events that have already happened) that they enjoyed that occurred at different past time points (e.g., 12 hours ago, 24 hours ago, a week ago). Participants will be instructed to use and think about their episodic cues as they make decisions.
Behavioral: Episodic Recent Thinking (ERT)
EFT participants will generate positive future events they are looking forward to and that could happen at different future time points (e.g., in 2 weeks, 1 month, 6 months, 1 year). Participants will be instructed to use and think about their episodic cues as they make decisions.
ERT participants will list positive recent events (events that have already happened) that they enjoyed that occurred at different past time points (e.g., 12 hours ago, 24 hours ago, a week ago). Participants will be instructed to use and think about their episodic cues as they make decisions.
Change in average daily alcohol consumption
Change in average daily alcohol consumption collected using self reports
Time frame: Self report of daily alcohol use will be collected every morning for 7 days after the first session (baseline measure) and for 14 days after the second session and the averages of the 7- and 14-day periods will be compared (pre-post intervention).
Change in delay discounting rate
Discounting rates will be measured using adjusting amount delay discounting and minute delay discounting tasks
Time frame: At the first session (baseline measures), third session (after 3 weeks/post-intervention), and the 1 month follow up assessments. The average discounting rates within each group will be compared pre-post intervention
Change in intensity of alcohol demand
Change in intensity of alcohol demand will be determined from an alcohol demand curve generated via an Alcohol Purchase Task (APT)
Time frame: At the first session (baseline measures), third (after 3 weeks/post-intervention), and the 1 month follow up assessments. The average scores within each group will be compared pre-post intervention
Change in elasticity of alcohol demand
Change in elasticity of alcohol demand will be determined from an alcohol demand curve generated via an Alcohol Purchase Task (APT)
Time frame: At the first session (baseline measures), third (after 3 weeks/post-intervention), and the 1 month follow up assessments. The average scores within each group will be compared pre-post intervention
PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.
Plan to share: No
Ran from Sep 2017 to primary completion in Sep 2019, 23 months.
Of 470 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Alcoholism, half reached primary completion within 35 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 18 and three quarters within 54. This study's 23 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 493 studies reached it within 33 months; a quarter within 17 and three quarters within 53.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is completed, as verified in Feb 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University →