Examining the Effectiveness of Dynamic Visual Noise (DVN) for Reducing Alcohol Cravings and Consumption in College Students

NCT07157124 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: IRB-2025-162
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 62
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine whether dynamic visual noise (DVN), a short video array of rapidly moving black and white squares, reduces cravings for and consumption of alcohol in college students who drink alcohol and experience cravings for alcohol at least once a week on average. A second goal of this clinical trial is to examine whether changes in attentional bias towards alcohol (that is, the tendency to pay greater mental and visual attention towards alcohol over other things in one's environment) is a mechanism by which DVN reduces alcohol cravings and consumption. Researchers will compare DVN to static visual noise (SVN), which is a still image of black and white squares that has been used as a control condition for DVN in prior literature. Participants will:

1. 1.Visit the laboratory once to complete the baseline data collection
2. 2.Watch the DVN or SVN every day for seven days (including the day of the laboratory visit)
3. 3.Complete daily follow-ups for six days following the day of the laboratory visit
4. 4.Complete a final follow-up on the seventh day following the laboratory visit

Conditions

Craving; Alcohol Drinking

Keywords

alcohol craving; dynamic visual noise; alcohol consumption; attentional bias; craving; alcohol; DVN; static visual noise; SVN

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Strength of Alcohol Craving

  Strength of alcohol craving will be measured using the Craving Experiences Questionnaire - Strength (CEQ-S). The measure inquires about the individual's past-week craving experiences. Higher average scores indicate stronger past-week cravings. Changes in mean craving will be calculated as changes in mean strength of past-week alcohol craving at follow-up relative to baseline for each condition.

  Baseline and 1-week follow-up

• Frequency of Craving

  Frequency of alcohol craving will be measured using the Craving Experiences Questionnaire - Frequency (CEQ-F). The measure inquires about the individual's past-week craving experiences. Higher average scores indicate more frequent past-week craving. Changes will be calculated as changes in mean frequency of past-week alcohol craving at follow-up relative to baseline for each condition.

  Baseline and 1-week follow-up

• Alcohol Consumption

  At baseline and follow-up, participants will complete the Daily Drinking Questionnaire (DDQ) to indicate the extent of their past-week alcohol consumption. Higher total scores indicate more past-week alcohol consumption. Changes will be calculated as changes in mean past-week alcohol use at follow-up relative to baseline for each condition.

  Baseline and 1-week follow-up

• Attentional Bias towards Alcohol

  Attentional bias will be measured at the initial laboratory session and at the 1-week final follow-up via the Alcohol Visual Probe task. Changes will be examined as mean changes in reaction time at follow-up minus reaction time at baseline for each condition.

  Baseline and 1-week follow-up

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Immediate Changes in Strength of Alcohol Craving Before and After DVN/SVN Task

  Baseline

• Immediate Changes in Strength of Craving Before and After DVN/SVN

  1-Week Intervention Period, Between Baseline Visit and 1-week Follow-Up

Other Outcomes (8)

• Changes in Negative Affect from Baseline to Final Follow-Up

  Baseline and 1-week follow-up

• Changes in Negative Affect Immediately after Viewing DVN/SVN

  Baseline

• Past-year Alcohol Use Severity

  Baseline

Study Arms (2)

Dynamic Visual Noise (DVN)

EXPERIMENTAL

Other: Dynamic Visual Noise (DVN)

Static Visual Noise (SVN)

SHAM COMPARATOR

Other: Static Visual Noise (SVN)

Interventions

Dynamic Visual Noise (DVN) OTHER

DVN is a brief visual array of patterns of flickering black and white dots. In alignment with prior literature, the DVN array will consist of an 80 x 80 grid of 4 x 4 black and white pixel squares that will change at a rate of 640 frames per second. The DVN will be 30 seconds in duration, though participants will be able to keep watching for as long as desired by restarting the video of the array.

Dynamic Visual Noise (DVN)

Static Visual Noise (SVN) OTHER

SVN is similar to DVN, but refers to a static (or still) image of an array of black and white squares. The SVN will consist of an 80 x 80 grid of 4 x 4 black and white pixel squares. SVN has been used in previous working memory-loading studies as a control for DVN. Similar to the DVN, participants in the control group will view the SVN for at least 30 seconds (but they will be able to keep viewing it for as long as desired).

Static Visual Noise (SVN)

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 29 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Must report being between the age of 18 and 29
• Must report drinking alcohol at least once per week on average over the past month
• Must report having drank beer or alcoholic seltzers in the past month
• Must endorse experiencing craving at least once per week over the past month, on average
• Must report not currently receiving nor planning to seek any other treatment for their alcohol use within the next 30 days
• Must report owning a personal electronic device with access to the Internet
• Must report owning or having access to a computer with access to the Internet

You may not qualify if:

• Major visual impairment (i.e., legal blindness or color blindness)
• History of seizures and/or diagnosed seizure disorder
• Current medical diagnosis provided by a qualified professional (i.e., psychologist, psychiatrist, neurologist) that is characterized by cognitive impairment (i.e., neurocognitive disorder due to traumatic brain injury, traumatic brain injury, HIV infection, post-concussive syndrome, and intellectual disability)
• Concussion in the past month
• A current diagnosis of any substance use disorder besides alcohol use disorder, as determined by a qualified professional (i.e., psychologist, psychiatrist)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Wyoming: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Wyoming

Laramie, Wyoming, 82072, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alcohol Drinking

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Drinking Behavior; Behavior

Central Study Contacts

Emma Winterlind, MPS

CONTACT

307-314-2177; ewinterl@uwyo.edu

Alison Looby, PhD

CONTACT

alooby@uwyo.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Clinical Psychology Doctoral Student

Model Details: Participants will be block randomized by sex into one of the two arms.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 21, 2025
• First Posted: September 5, 2025
• Study Start: September 22, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Last Updated: December 29, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)