# Neurocognitive Mechanisms Underlying Smartphone-Assisted Prevention of Relapse in Opioid Use Disorder

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF ARKANSAS FOR MED SCIS · 2021 · $510,434

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The rising public health burden of opioid misuse, coupled with high relapse rates among individuals seeking
treatment for opioid use disorder, necessitates novel interventions for improving opioid-related treatment
response. Mobile technology such as smartphone-based applications (“apps”) represent one such intervention.
Although smartphone apps are effective in reducing cigarette and alcohol use, their efficacy for reducing opioid
use has not yet been established. The proposed clinical trial would evaluate the app OPTiMA (“OPiate
Treatment Mobile App”) to prevent relapse among patients receiving medication-assisted treatment for opioid
use disorder. OPTiMA implements two features shown to be effective for reducing substance use: daily self-
monitoring of opiate use coupled with personalized feedback. Aim 1 would accrue 204 participants with 1:1
randomization into two arms (OPTiMA vs. Monitoring only) to evaluate differences in monthly opioid use at six
months post-enrollment. Aim 2 would enroll a subset of participants (N=120) into a longitudinal functional
neuroimaging (fMRI) study to model the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying individual differences in
treatment response. Two putative mechanisms (attentional bias for drug cues and cue-induced craving)
promoting abstinence would be studied. Aim 3 would explore the use of location-based geographic ecological
momentary assessment (GEMA) for targeted intervention when participants enter self-identified areas of high
risk for relapse. Collectively, the proposed aims would (1) evaluate mobile technology applications for reducing
opiate use, (2) understand the neurocognitive mechanisms of action to improve upon this and other apps
aiming to reduce drug use, and (3) evaluate the role of personalized, contextually-relevant intervention to
promote successful treatment outcomes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10129678
- **Project number:** 1R01DA048022-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF ARKANSAS FOR MED SCIS
- **Principal Investigator:** George Andrew James
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $510,434
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-08-01 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10129678

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10129678, Neurocognitive Mechanisms Underlying Smartphone-Assisted Prevention of Relapse in Opioid Use Disorder (1R01DA048022-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10129678. Licensed CC0.

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