ArticlePsychopharmacology2026
Neuroimaging as the 'missing link' for preclinical to clinical translation: an example using N-acetylcysteine among individuals with cocaine- and opioid-use disorders receiving methadone treatment.
Article in Psychopharmacology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02994875 (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of N-acetylcysteine in Cocaine Dependence), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of N-acetylcysteine in Cocaine Dependence
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
rationaleCocaine use disorder (CUD) remains a major public health problem, particularly among individuals receiving medications for opioid use disorder (mOUD), where ongoing cocaine use is associated with poorer treatment outcomes and elevated overdose risk. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a promising adjunctive candidate that reduces cocaine-seeking in preclinical models and shows mixed efficacy in humans, but its functional neural mechanisms in individuals with CUD-especially within mOUD settings-remain poorly understood.
objectivesThe present study uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to determine whether short-term NAC administration modulates brain activity in regions associated with inhibitory control and affective processing in people with CUD receiving medications for opioid use disorder (mOUD).
methodsIn this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study, 21 individuals with CUD enrolled in an mOUD program were randomized to receive NAC or placebo for 7 days and participated in fMRI scanning on the 7th day of this period. Following a fourteen-day washout period, participants were crossed over to receive the other condition for another 7-day period. Participants received a second fMRI scan on the 7th day of this period. Participants completed a go/no-go (GNG) and emotion-regulation task (ERT) during each scan.
resultsCompared to placebo, active NAC did not significantly affect brain activity during either the GNG task or the ERT.
conclusionsOverall, short-term NAC did not robustly modulate neural circuits supporting inhibitory control or emotion regulation in individuals with comorbid CUD and OUD receiving mOUD, consistent with prior trials reporting limited efficacy of NAC for CUD. These findings underscore the value of incorporating neuroimaging into early-phase treatment trials to evaluate target engagement in humans.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02994875, registered 2016-12-16.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42108273What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.