A Pilot Study of Cue-Exposure Combined with Episodic Future Thinking (CIREF) Intervention on Craving and Delay Discounting in Opioid Users Receiving Methadone Maintenance Treatment.

The current study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Cue-Induced Reconsolidation and Episodic Future Thinking (CIREF) in reducing craving and delay discounting in individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT).

The current study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Cue-Induced Reconsolidation and Episodic Future Thinking (CIREF) in reducing craving and delay discounting in individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT).

This multicentre study was conducted at two outpatient addiction treatment centres in Tehran. After screening, participants were randomized to CIREF or ERT. Ten personalized opioid-related cues were generated and rated, and six were selected. Participants then completed three 75-minute intervention sessions. CIREF used future intervals, whereas ERT used recent-past intervals. DDQ was assessed before and after each session; OCDUS and MCQ were assessed before and after the intervention.

Inclusion Criteria: Individuals with a history of opioid use currently receiving Methadone maintenance treatment Acquire normal score on the Beck Depression Inventory, Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale and Montreal Cognitive Assessment in the initial Screening Ability to generate the opioid-related cues in the second screening Exclusion Criteria: Not having the mentioned criteria above

CIREF

Phasic Craving Toic Craving Delay Discounting

Post-recruitment update to accurately reflect the study as conducted and to correct administrative inaccuracies in the original registration. Updates include final recruitment/completion information, multicentre recruitment, session structure, masking, outcome-measure descriptions and assessment timepoints, intervention procedures, funding information, and the data-sharing plan. These changes are reported transparently after study completion and do not alter the original prospective registration date.” The existing registration date (2 June 2022) must remain unchanged.

After screening and informed consent, eligible participants were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to the CIREF or ERT group using computer-generated block randomization with a fixed block size of four, applied independently at each recruitment site. Each block contained two CIREF and two ERT assignments, with one of the six possible balanced permutations selected randomly. The allocation sequence was generated in Python by a statistician who was not involved in recruitment, enrollment, or intervention delivery. Allocation concealment was maintained using sequentially numbered assignment codes.

Due to the experiential nature of the interventions—future-oriented episodic simulation in CIREF and recent-past episodic retrieval in ERT—participants could not be blinded to their assigned condition. However, participants were not informed which condition was considered the experimental intervention or active control, and they were not informed of the study hypotheses. The intervention providers were aware of group allocation because this was necessary to deliver the condition-specific procedures. Clinic staff involved in participants’ routine clinical care, including nurses, psychologists, assistants, and the clinic technical manager, remained blinded to group allocation.

De-identified participant-level dataset and supporting analysis materials for the CIREF pilot randomized controlled trial. Details: De-identified participant-level data used in the reported analyses may be shared upon reasonable request, including demographic and clinical variables, cue ratings, treatment-group assignment, DDQ, OCDUS, and MCQ outcomes, together with relevant derived variables, a data dictionary, and statistical analysis code. Direct identifiers and potentially identifying free-text information, including personalized cue content, will not be shared.

The de-identified participant-level data and supporting materials will be available upon reasonable request after publication of the primary study results. There is no predetermined end date for data availability; requests may be submitted for as long as the study team is able to maintain and securely share the data.

De-identified participant-level data and supporting documents may be shared, upon reasonable request, with qualified researchers from academic, clinical, governmental, or other legitimate research institutions. Requests from researchers outside academia may also be considered if the proposed use is scientifically appropriate and consistent with ethical and confidentiality requirements.

De-identified participant-level data and supporting materials may be used for scientifically appropriate secondary analyses, replication and reproducibility studies, meta-analyses, methodological research, or related academic purposes. Requests should describe the research question, planned analyses, investigators, and data-security procedures. Requests will be reviewed by the corresponding author and study team for scientific appropriateness, ethical acceptability, participant confidentiality, and feasibility. Approved users may be required to sign a data-use agreement and must not attempt to re-identify participants.

The de-identified participant-level data and supporting documents may be requested from the corresponding author, Dr. Tara Rezapour, Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute for Cognitive Science Studies (ICSS), Tehran, Iran, by email at tara.rezapour@gmail.com. The OSF project overview is available at https://osf.io/q6w9d/. Participant-level data are not publicly downloadable and will be provided only after review and approval of a reasonable request.

Requests should be submitted by email to the corresponding author and should briefly describe the research purpose, planned analyses, investigators, and data-security procedures. The corresponding author and study team will review the request for scientific appropriateness, ethical acceptability, participant confidentiality, and feasibility. If approved, the requester may be asked to sign a data-use agreement before receiving the de-identified data and supporting materials. Applicants should generally allow approximately 2–4 weeks for review and response.