N-DUR

N-DUR brings together clinicians, scientists, and recovery communities to focus on long-term recovery from substance use disorders, especially opioid use disorder (OUD). Unlike approaches that track only drug use or relapse, N-DUR emphasizes how people achieve and sustain thriving recovery.

Why It Matters

The opioid crisis remains urgent, with over a thousand Minnesotans losing their lives to opioid overdoses in 2022. More effective solutions are needed to promote hope and healing, not just measure setbacks. By examining success stories and supporting personal growth, N-DUR aims to redefine the way we treat and support recovery.

N-DUR collaborates with Recovery Community Organizations (RCOs) across the country, using the secure Recovery Data Platform (RDP) to track diverse aspects of recovery. RDP provides information on peer support, housing status, employment, mental health, and more.

Machine Learning Insights

Because this dataset is so extensive, N-DUR employs machine learning techniques, such as decision trees, to uncover factors that most strongly predict positive outcomes.

SUD affects the brain’s reward, motivation, and decision-making circuits, but these can heal over time with abstinence and active recovery efforts. N-DUR uses advanced MRI technology to map changes in brain structure and function among people in various stages of recovery from OUD.

Reverse Translational Neuroscience

Instead of starting with lab data, this process begins with real-world observations of recovery and then designs lab experiments to explore those findings more deeply. When MRI scans show that certain networks strengthen during recovery, the research team uses that insight in animal models to better understand the underlying biology.

Mice share fundamental brain structures with humans. In carefully controlled laboratory settings, researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) study how key circuits, particularly in the prefrontal cortex and reward pathways, change as mice transition from addictive behaviors to abstinence. Such deep cause-and-effect relationships cannot be studied in humans as rigorously.

Direct Benefit to Recovery Communities

By identifying which circuits support recovery, the N-DUR team can help envision ways to strengthen these pathways in people. Lab discoveries move swiftly from “bench to bedside,” to urgently improve care for people in recovery from SUDs.

Better Diagnostics

N-DUR’s research may lead to more accurate ways to measure recovery progress to give care providers a more precise indicator of when extra support is needed.

Personalized Treatment

Machine learning analysis of recovery data helps reveal which factors work best for different individuals. One person may benefit most from regular peer support and exercise, while another may see the greatest improvements with family therapy and job assistance.

A New Era of Recovery-Focused Care

Instead of defining success as simply “avoidance of relapse,” data-driven insights from N-DUR could shift treatment toward promoting a thriving, meaningful life in recovery.