Cannabis Use DisorderNCT07787572
Applying Neuromodulation to Boost the Efficacy of Motivational Interviewing
A study testing transcranial alternating current stimulation and Motivational interviewing (MI) in people with Cannabis Use Disorder, run by The Mind Research Network at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn how adding brain stimulation to a brief counseling session affects adults with cannabis use disorder. The counseling session uses motivational interviewing, which helps people talk through their reasons for changing or not changing cannabis use. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 21 to 65 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Cannabis Use Disorder
- What is being tested?
- transcranial alternating current stimulation and Motivational interviewing (MI)
- Type of treatment
- Medical device, Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 82 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- Aug 2026to Aug 2028
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 21 to 65 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- self-identification as having problematic cannabis use
- age 21-65 years
- SCID-5-RV module E indicating current cannabis use disorder
Who cannot join
- currently engaged in treatment for any substance use disorder (SUD)
- receiving treatment for any SUD within the prior 30 days
- history of brain injury or major neurological diagnosis, vascular/neurodegenerative disorder, or complex primary headache disorder
- evidence of current psychosis
- past-year substance use disorder other than cannabis, alcohol, or nicotine
- positive urine drug screen for any illicit drug other than cannabis
Show all 12Show fewer
- current or recent (past-month) medically significant withdrawal
- MRI/tACS contraindications, including pregnancy
- impaired hearing (psychotherapy using American Sign Language is not possible within the scope of this study)
- insufficient corrected visual acuity to complete the assessment instruments
- unable to read/speak English fluently
- unable to provide valid informed consent
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site
The Mind Research Network
Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87106
About this study
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn how adding brain stimulation to a brief counseling session affects adults with cannabis use disorder. The counseling session uses motivational interviewing, which helps people talk through their reasons for changing or not changing cannabis use. The brain stimulation is called transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). tACS uses electrodes on the scalp to give a very weak electrical current for a short time.
The main questions it aims to answer are:
Read more
- Does active tACS affect what participants say during the counseling session?
- Does active tACS change brain activity after the session?
- Is active tACS related to less cannabis use during the month after the session?
Researchers will compare motivational interviewing with active tACS to motivational interviewing with placebo stimulation. Placebo stimulation uses the same setup but does not provide the active 30-minute stimulation. Participants will be assigned by chance to one of these groups, and neither participants nor the study staff member running the session will know which type of stimulation is used.
Participants will complete questionnaires, breath and urine tests, a recorded counseling session during active or placebo stimulation, MEG and MRI brain scans, daily text-message check-ins about cannabis use, and follow-up questionnaires about one month later.
Read the detailed description
Motivational interviewing is a widely used counseling approach for substance use disorders, including cannabis use disorder. A central proposed mechanism of motivational interviewing is that clients resolve ambivalence by hearing themselves express reasons for change and reasons for maintaining current behavior. Prior empirical and meta-analytic research has linked these within-session speech patterns with subsequent substance use outcomes.
This proof-of-concept randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial tests whether transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) can modulate this mechanism during a motivational interviewing session for adults with cannabis use disorder. tACS is a noninvasive form of brain stimulation that delivers weak sinusoidal electrical current through scalp electrodes. In this study, stimulation is designed to target beta-band activity in left inferior temporal cortex, a region and frequency range implicated in speech acts and commitment-related language. Pilot work suggests that beta-band activity may be stronger during statements favoring behavior change than during statements favoring continued substance use, and that tACS during motivational interviewing is feasible.
Participants are assigned to motivational interviewing with active tACS or motivational interviewing with sham stimulation. Both groups receive a single motivational interviewing session focused on cannabis-use ambivalence while the stimulation device and scalp electrodes are in place. The active condition includes approximately 30 minutes of 20-Hz beta-frequency stimulation focused on left inferior temporal cortex at 2.0 mA total combined current across electrodes. The sham condition uses the same setup with brief ramping procedures to emulate the sensations of active stimulation but without active stimulation during the intervention period.
The study evaluates whether active tACS, compared with sham stimulation, affects client speech during the motivational interviewing session, post-session brain activity, and cannabis use during the month after the session. Session audio is analyzed to quantify speech that favors change and speech that favors continued cannabis use. Neuroimaging measures include magnetoencephalography (MEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after the intervention session. Post-stimulation resting MEG is co-registered to structural MRI to estimate, with particular interest in beta-band activity in left temporal cortex in MEG. Near-term cannabis use is assessed with daily self-report check-ins and a follow-up assessment approximately one month after baseline.
The trial is intended to provide mechanistic evidence about whether noninvasive neuromodulation can alter a candidate process of behavior change during psychotherapy. The study is not designed to provide ongoing substance use disorder treatment, but to test whether pairing tACS with a brief motivational interviewing session changes speech, brain activity, and short-term cannabis-use outcomes relative to a sham-stimulation comparison.
- Conditions
- Cannabis Use Disorder
- Being tested
- transcranial alternating current stimulation, sham transcranial alternating current stimulation, Motivational interviewing (MI)
- Keywords
- cannabis use disorder, motivational interviewing, transcranial alternating current stimulation, non-invasive brain stimulation
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
transcranial alternating current stimulationDevice
Also called tacs
Active transcranial alternating current stimulation
sham transcranial alternating current stimulationDevice
Also called tacs, sham
sham transcranial alternating current stimulation including 30 seconds of ramp-up and ramp-down at the beginning and end of the session, with no stimulation between ramping procedures.
Motivational interviewing (MI)Behavioural
30 minute motivational interviewing session
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| MI+stim | Experimental | 30 minutes of motivational interviewing (MI) with active transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) Receives: Device: transcranial alternating current stimulation; Behavioral: Motivational interviewing (MI) |
| MI+sham | Placebo comparator | 30 minutes of motivational interviewing (MI) with sham transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) Receives: Device: sham transcranial alternating current stimulation; Behavioral: Motivational interviewing (MI) |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Client speech
Motivational Interviewing Skill Code-defined change talk (CT; higher scores are better) and sustain talk (ST; lower scores are better) assessed via CASAA Application for Coding Treatment Interactions and session audio recording.
Measured: Baseline
Cannabis use
Timeline follow-back (TLFB) measure
Measured: 30 days
MEG
Beta-band activity assessed using MNE-python
Measured: Baseline
Secondary outcomes (1)
Cannabis use
Urine drug screen (UDS) measure
Measured: 30 days
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted26 Aug 2026
- Study startAug 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completionAug 2028 (estimated)
- Study completionAug 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Cannabis Use DisorderStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Care provider
- Enrolment
- 82 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- The Mind Research Network
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07787572
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 20-156
- Other IDs
- 1UG3DA061594
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 13 Aug 2026
- Last updated
- 27 Aug 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- Yes
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: There be maximum appropriate sharing of scientific data underlying peer-reviewed publications and other findings resulting from the work supported by this award (including preprints, refereed papers reported at conferences, and other findings). The scientific data underlying peer-reviewed publications will be shared by the time of publication, or for other findings, by the end of the period of performance, which includes no-cost extensions. Data from participants who have opted not to share their data will not be shared or uploaded. All data sharing is contingent on review and approval by the supervising IRB. All structural MRIs will be de-faced before sharing or uploading into the repository, and the participant's head/face shape collected during MEG preparation will be removed before uploading/sharing. Instead, the MEG-MRI transformation matrix will be uploaded and shared. Neither audio recordings nor data derived from audio recordings will be shared or uploaded.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 27 Aug 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Applying Neuromodulation to Boost the Efficacy of Motivational Interviewing
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07787572
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 20-156
- Conditions
- Cannabis Use Disorder
- Keywords
- cannabis use disorder, motivational interviewing, transcranial alternating current stimulation, non-invasive brain stimulation
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Not yet recruiting
- Enrolment
- 82 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- The Mind Research NetworkUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
- Study start
- Aug 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- Aug 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Aug 2028 (estimated)
- First posted
- 26 Aug 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn how adding brain stimulation to a brief counseling session affects adults with cannabis use disorder. The counseling session uses motivational interviewing, which helps people talk through their reasons for changing or not changing cannabis use. The brain stimulation is called transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS). tACS uses electrodes on the scalp to give a very weak electrical current for a short time.
The main questions it aims to answer are:
- Does active tACS affect what participants say during the counseling session?
- Does active tACS change brain activity after the session?
- Is active tACS related to less cannabis use during the month after the session?
Researchers will compare motivational interviewing with active tACS to motivational interviewing with placebo stimulation. Placebo stimulation uses the same setup but does not provide the active 30-minute stimulation. Participants will be assigned by chance to one of these groups, and neither participants nor the study staff member running the session will know which type of stimulation is used.
Participants will complete questionnaires, breath and urine tests, a recorded counseling session during active or placebo stimulation, MEG and MRI brain scans, daily text-message check-ins about cannabis use, and follow-up questionnaires about one month later.
Detailed description
Motivational interviewing is a widely used counseling approach for substance use disorders, including cannabis use disorder. A central proposed mechanism of motivational interviewing is that clients resolve ambivalence by hearing themselves express reasons for change and reasons for maintaining current behavior. Prior empirical and meta-analytic research has linked these within-session speech patterns with subsequent substance use outcomes.
This proof-of-concept randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial tests whether transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) can modulate this mechanism during a motivational interviewing session for adults with cannabis use disorder. tACS is a noninvasive form of brain stimulation that delivers weak sinusoidal electrical current through scalp electrodes. In this study, stimulation is designed to target beta-band activity in left inferior temporal cortex, a region and frequency range implicated in speech acts and commitment-related language. Pilot work suggests that beta-band activity may be stronger during statements favoring behavior change than during statements favoring continued substance use, and that tACS during motivational interviewing is feasible.
Participants are assigned to motivational interviewing with active tACS or motivational interviewing with sham stimulation. Both groups receive a single motivational interviewing session focused on cannabis-use ambivalence while the stimulation device and scalp electrodes are in place. The active condition includes approximately 30 minutes of 20-Hz beta-frequency stimulation focused on left inferior temporal cortex at 2.0 mA total combined current across electrodes. The sham condition uses the same setup with brief ramping procedures to emulate the sensations of active stimulation but without active stimulation during the intervention period.
The study evaluates whether active tACS, compared with sham stimulation, affects client speech during the motivational interviewing session, post-session brain activity, and cannabis use during the month after the session. Session audio is analyzed to quantify speech that favors change and speech that favors continued cannabis use. Neuroimaging measures include magnetoencephalography (MEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after the intervention session. Post-stimulation resting MEG is co-registered to structural MRI to estimate, with particular interest in beta-band activity in left temporal cortex in MEG. Near-term cannabis use is assessed with daily self-report check-ins and a follow-up assessment approximately one month after baseline.
The trial is intended to provide mechanistic evidence about whether noninvasive neuromodulation can alter a candidate process of behavior change during psychotherapy. The study is not designed to provide ongoing substance use disorder treatment, but to test whether pairing tACS with a brief motivational interviewing session changes speech, brain activity, and short-term cannabis-use outcomes relative to a sham-stimulation comparison.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind (participant, care provider)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| MI+stim | Experimental | Device: transcranial alternating current stimulation, Behavioral: Motivational interviewing (MI)30 minutes of motivational interviewing (MI) with active transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) |
| MI+sham | Placebo comparator | Device: sham transcranial alternating current stimulation, Behavioral: Motivational interviewing (MI)30 minutes of motivational interviewing (MI) with sham transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 21 to 65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- self-identification as having problematic cannabis use
- age 21-65 years
- SCID-5-RV module E indicating current cannabis use disorder
Key exclusion criteria (12 listed)
- currently engaged in treatment for any substance use disorder (SUD)
- receiving treatment for any SUD within the prior 30 days
- history of brain injury or major neurological diagnosis, vascular/neurodegenerative disorder, or complex primary headache disorder
- evidence of current psychosis
- past-year substance use disorder other than cannabis, alcohol, or nicotine
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| transcranial alternating current stimulationAlso: tacsActive transcranial alternating current stimulation | Device | MI+stim |
| sham transcranial alternating current stimulationAlso: tacs, shamsham transcranial alternating current stimulation including 30 seconds of ramp-up and ramp-down at the beginning and end of the session, with no stimulation between ramping procedures. | Device | MI+sham |
| Motivational interviewing (MI)30 minute motivational interviewing session | Behavioural | MI+sham, MI+stim |
Primary outcome
Client speech
Time frame: Baseline
Motivational Interviewing Skill Code-defined change talk (CT; higher scores are better) and sustain talk (ST; lower scores are better) assessed via CASAA Application for Coding Treatment Interactions and session audio recording.
Cannabis use
Time frame: 30 days
Timeline follow-back (TLFB) measure
MEG
Time frame: Baseline
Beta-band activity assessed using MNE-python
1 secondary outcome
Cannabis use
Time frame: 30 days
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 27 Aug 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. There be maximum appropriate sharing of scientific data underlying peer-reviewed publications and other findings resulting from the work supported by this award (including preprints, refereed papers reported at conferences, and other findings). The scientific data underlying peer-reviewed publications will be shared by the time of publication, or for other findings, by the end of the period of performance, which includes no-cost extensions. Data from participants who have opted not to share their data will not be shared or uploaded. All data sharing is contingent on review and approval by the supervising IRB. All structural MRIs will be de-faced before sharing or uploading into the repository, and the participant's head/face shape collected during MEG preparation will be removed before uploading/sharing. Instead, the MEG-MRI transformation matrix will be uploaded and shared. Neither audio recordings nor data derived from audio recordings will be shared or uploaded.
Related trials for Cannabis Use Disorder
Active, not recruitingObservational study
Cannabis Use and Outcomes in Black and White Patients With Cancer
Cancer
Recruiting
MATAspire: Mental Health Awareness Tailored App for Substance Prevention and Integrated Resilience Education
Alcohol Use, Cannabis Use
RecruitingObservational study
Study of an Oral Fluid Testing Approach
Cannabis Use, Cannabis Intoxication
Not yet recruitingEarly Phase 1
Research Investigating Drug Effects-2 (RiDE-2)
Cannabis Use, Substance Use Disorder (SUD)
Active, not recruiting
Evaluation of a Brief Computerized and Smart Phone-based Intervention for Stress in Regular Cannabis Users
Cannabis Use Disorder
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing transcranial alternating current stimulation and Motivational interviewing (MI) in people with Cannabis Use Disorder, run by The Mind Research Network at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 12 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 27 Aug 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Research Coordinator (505-226-2323, enact@mrn.org), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Client speech (time frame: Baseline). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 27 Aug 2026.