Ketamine and Neurofeedback as Combined Therapeutic Interventions to Target Glutamatergic Neurotransmission in Alcohol Use Disorder

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about the effects of the combination of ketamine and realtime functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) neurofeedback training on the treatment of individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD). The main questions the investigators aim to answer are: * Can the investigators observe a positive, significant therapeutic effect by comparing changes in alcohol use via i) mean alcohol use per day, ii) heavy drinking days one month after the last treatment intervention? * Are changes in glutamatergic neurotransmission in the nucleus accumbens related to cue-induced cravings in individuals with AUD? * Is there a significant, ketamine-dependent change in glutamate levels in the nucleus accumbens? Participants will be given ketamine or placebo and real-time fMRI neurofeedback (rt-fMRI NFT) or sham rt-fMRI NFT. The investigators will compare three intervention groups to investigate the effects of the stand-alone effects as well as potential synergies between the combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention.

NCT Number	NCT06969937
Lead Sponsor	Dr. med. Marcus Herdener Collaborators: University of Zurich
Conditions	Alcohol Abuse/Dependence, Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), Alcoholism
Enrollment	75 participants
Start Date	2025-06-01
Primary Completion	2026-12 (estimated)
Study Completion	2026-12 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2025-12-05