The Neural Underpinnings of Depression and Cannabis Use in Young People Living With HIV
Eligible age
18–59 yrs
Accepts
All genders
Locations
1 state
Healthy volunteers
No
See if you qualify for this study
Answer a few quick questions about your location and health. Takes about a minute.
About this study
To elucidate mechanisms of substance use disorders (SUD) and comorbid mental illnesses in people living with HIV (PLWH), the study team seeks to investigate reward and pain circuitry in cannabis use and depression comorbidity, two highly prevalent conditions in PLWH. The study team proposes a tightly integrative study to test the overall hypothesis that cannabis use and depression in young PLWH have an additive effect, inducing both reward deficits and pain hypersensitivity, and that this pattern will predict worse outcomes at 1 year follow-up.
Sponsor: University of Miami
You may qualify if…
- ✓ HIV seropositivity confirmed with lab report, medical records, or HIV testing.
- ✓ Between the ages of 18-39 years
- ✓ Fluency in English or Spanish
- ✓ Ability to provide informed consent and perform study procedures, including estimated full-scale intelligence quotient (IQ) \>75 to ensure that participants are able to understand the study.
- ✓ Cannabis users: To capture a wide range of cannabis use frequency, meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5 (DSM-5) criteria for Cannabis use Disorder (CUD) will not be required. However, in order to ensure sufficient exposure, cannabis use will be significant (self-reported use on ≥20 of the prior 30 days and positive THC urine toxicology).
- ✓ Depressed: In order to capture a wide range of depression illness severity, we will allow participants with subthreshold depression, defined as a raw severity score of ≥12 on the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS).
You may not qualify if…
- ✕ Perinatally acquired HIV infection, as early neurodevelopmental alterations and HIV legacy effects may exist in this group
- ✕ Pregnancy or lactation
- ✕ Current Substance Use Disorder other than cannabis or nicotine
- ✕ Certified for or self-reported medical cannabis use, or intent to become certified
- ✕ Current cocaine use by self-report or urine toxicology
- ✕ central nervous system (CNS) disease or injury, or neuro-degenerative disease
- ✕ Unique pain syndromes (e.g. multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis);
- ✕ Severe medical illness such as end-stage renal disease, heart failure, cirrhosis, or cancer
Where it's recruiting
Miami
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · NCT05453513 · last updated 2026-06-29