Overview
The goal of the project is to evaluate whether donepezil + cognitive remediation therapy is superior to placebo in reducing heavy drinking in patients with alcohol use disorder in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Eligibility
Inclusion criteria:
- Males and females 18-80 years of age
- Fluency in English and a 6th grade or higher reading level
- Meets the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria for a current alcohol use disorder (subjects should have a primary alcohol use disorder [AUD] diagnosis, but may have concurrent occasional use of other substances)
- Last alcohol use and at least one heavy drinking day within the past 30 days
- Willingness to attend follow-up assessments at 13 weeks
- Willingness to submit to Urine Toxicology screenings
Exclusion criteria:
- Lifetime diagnosis of a psychotic disorder, not induced by drug use
- Current treatment with opioids or benzodiazepines, which may affect new learning
- Involvement in a legal case that may lead to incarceration during the study period
- Residential plans that would interfere with participation
- Medical illness that may significantly compromise cognition (e.g., Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Huntington's chorea, moderate or greater TBI)
- An uncorrected sensory impairment (hearing or sight) that would seriously interfere with cognitive training
- Pre-morbid intelligence quotient (IQ) estimate below 70
- Unstable housing or lack of commitment to staying within a geographic area that would make follow-up unlikely
- Unwillingness to provide contact information of someone who can help study staff contact the subjects in the event that study staff are unable to maintain contact directly
- Allergy to donepezil
- Unstable cardiovascular disease or unstable medical condition-clinically determined by a physician
- Imminent suicidal or homicidal risk
- Pregnant or nursing women, positive pregnancy test, or inadequate birth control methods in women of childbearing potential