NIDA Awards $2.5 Million for Study of App to Augment MAT

NIDA has awarded a 5-year, $2.5 million grant to research scientists at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to study whether a cell phone app can reduce relapses rates in individuals with opioid use disorder.

The UAMS researchers are developing an app that will provide OUD patients receiving medication-assisted treatment with short, daily interventions to prevent relapse or a return to opioid misuse after a period of abstinence. The app will also have GPS technology that detects when patients are in areas known to potentially cause a relapse, such as areas where the patients have previously purchased or consumed drugs.

Andrew James, PhD, associated professor in UAMS College of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and the study’s principal investigator, told UAMS News that similar apps have been shown to reduce smoking and alcohol misuse, and that there is potential for the same principles to apply for OUD patients receiving MAT.

In addition to receiving medication-assisted treatment and brief app-based interventions, patients will undergo MRI scans for observation of brain changes during recovery, specifically how patients’ reward and attention systems normalize during recovery, as well as how the app impacts that process.