# Plasticity of Aversive Salience in Opioid Use Disorder

> **NIH NIH R01** · LAUREATE INSTITUTE FOR BRAIN RESEARCH · 2021 · $648,878

## Abstract

ABSTRACT/PROJECT SUMMARY
NOT-DA-20-012
Given that deaths linked to opioid addiction are at an all-time high in the United States, there is
a crucial need to understand brain mechanisms impeding versus promoting recovery, a process
marked by prolonged abstinence and use of internal/external resources to resolve drug
problems. The broad aims of this proposal are to understand how brain circuitry implicated in
the salience of aversive internal (bodily signals) and external (stressful, loss) stimuli tracks
recovery within and across individuals with opioid addiction to (1) inform future targets for
intervention (e.g., brain neurofeedback); and (2) aid the development of individualized treatment
to reduce drug-related deaths. Within three months of treatment, 50% of substance users
relapse, taking drugs to avoid aversive bodily states linked to craving, withdrawal, and stress.
Our preliminary data suggest that opioid users show greater negative affect, higher intensity of
internal sensations, and faster pain reactivity than healthy controls, paired with lower salience-
relevant brain responses during attention to bodily signals and anticipation of monetary losses
However, it is unclear whether aversive salience-related brain circuitry improves and tracks
recovery during the vulnerable first three months during treatment. The specific aims of this
proposal test how salience-based brain circuitry differs between 200 treatment-seeking
individuals with opioid use disorder and 50 healthy individuals at four timepoints during early
opioid recovery (2 weeks and 1, 2, and 3 months), identifying what self-report, behavioral, and
brain variables can be used to identify opioid users at high risk for relapse versus those who
maintain abstinence. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigms involving bodily
awareness, monetary win/loss, and stress/drug cues, substance use assessments, and NIDA
self-report/behavioral phenotyping batteries will be collected at each timepoint. Once the
proposed aims are completed, the findings from this dataset will be evaluated to determine
whether these prediction metrics can be validated in additional treatment-seeking samples.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10117745
- **Project number:** 1R01DA050677-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** LAUREATE INSTITUTE FOR BRAIN RESEARCH
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennifer Lorraine Stewart
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $648,878
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-03-01 → 2025-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10117745

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10117745, Plasticity of Aversive Salience in Opioid Use Disorder (1R01DA050677-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10117745. Licensed CC0.

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