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Item new Preprint · not peer-reviewed Added

Brain-activity feedback from peers in recovery reduced craving in opioid use disorder

People with opioid use disorder were trained to match their frontal brain activity to that of peers further into recovery, and craving fell against sham feedback.

Scans of people with opioid use disorder watching Trainspotting, before and after eight weeks of added treatment, identified a frontal activity pattern associated with treatment. A separate group then watched the same film with real feedback on how closely their brain activity matched that pattern, or with sham feedback. Real feedback improved the match and reduced craving; no sample sizes or effect sizes are given.

Why it is interesting: An early test of aligning one patient's brain activity with a peer's, with craving the outcome.

Source
medRxiv, 20 September 2026
Paper
Peer-guided movie neurofeedback to facilitate recovery in opioid use disorder
Authors
Kronberg G, McClain NE, Boros M, Santhapuram S, Drury KR, Hennings AC et al.
DOI
10.64898/2026.09.18.26363414
Type
Preprint
Design
Two-cohort real-time fMRI neurofeedback proof-of-concept in opioid use disorder, real versus yoked sham feedback; sample size not stated
Verdict
New finding
Driver
Alcohol and drug use
Driver
Innovation in treatment

Other drivers in Behavioural science