Research Participants Wanted for Nicotine Addiction Study
Nicotine is a highly addictive substance found in tobacco products that impairs the way several neurotransmitters function in the brain.
It can cause many who smoke to become addicted by stimulating the reward center in the brain and releasing dopamine. Due to its highly addictive nature, tobacco dependence remains the leading cause of preventable death in the world and increases the risk of many chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer.
Recent studies show that U.S. Veterans use tobacco at a much higher rate than non-Veterans across all age groups, and that veterans are also far less likely to seek tobacco cessation support. Researchers in the Neuromodulation Clinic at the Washington DC VA Medical Center are using a new type of noninvasive brain stimulation called focused ultrasound to modulate a brain region that is involved in nicotine addiction. This part of the brain region, called the insular cortex, has previously been unreachable by present noninvasive brain stimulation approaches. Focused ultrasound is being used to target deep brain regions such as the insula with spatial specificity on the order of millimeters.
This study involves using focused ultrasound to inhibit the insula and examine whether inhibition of this brain region results in reduced smoking cue-induced craving. If this is the case, they hope to build on the results of this study to determine whether focused ultrasound could be used as a treatment for nicotine addiction.
“Present treatments for tobacco use disorder and nicotine addiction only have marginal efficacy. New treatments are needed,” said Mary R. Lee, MD., Director of the Psychiatric Neuromodulation Clinic and Principal Investigator of the study. “We believe this study will help us to better understand the neurocircuitry underlying nicotine addiction and develop novel treatments for tobacco use disorder using this new noninvasive brain stimulation method. Nonpharmacologic treatment approaches have the added benefit of avoiding the problems associated with chronic medication use.”
Dr. Lee was the first to bring noninvasive brain stimulation, in the form of transcranial magnetic stimulation, to the Washington DC VA Medical Center. Noninvasive brain stimulation delivers energy to the brain using low-intensity focused ultrasound. Participants in this study will receive a session of low intensity focused ultrasound and have images of their brain captured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to see how different parts of their brain react to the stimulation. This type of noninvasive brain stimulation is already approved by the FDA to be given in higher doses for the treatment of essential tremor.
Dr. Lee hopes that by recruiting Veterans who currently smoke to participate in this study, the VA can investigate this approach to better understand how the brain changes with nicotine addiction and this, in turn will provide needed knowledge to aid developing alternative, treatment options that are effective for both current and former military members. She stressed that any Veteran who smokes and has thought about quitting may consider volunteering for the study.
“You don’t have to be committed to quitting smoking to participate in this trial. If you are even thinking about quitting, and are interested in participating, we would love to screen you for eligibility,” she said.
The noninvasive brain stimulation study to treat nicotine addiction has been approved by the Washington DC VA Medical Center Institutional Review Board and is open to Veteran volunteers who meet the following criteria:
- Male or female
- Between 18-65 years of age
- Currently smoking at least 10 cigarettes per day with no period of abstinence greater than 3 months in the last year
- Not under current treatment for smoking cessation
- Free of neurologic disorders and with no history of head injury or seizures
Volunteers must be willing to undergo further screening steps to determine eligibility if necessary, and if found eligible, they must complete four study visits, lasting from three to six hours, and five MRI sessions. Participants in this study will be compensated for their time.
To participate in this study or to learn more, contact:
Dr. Mary R. Lee at Mary.lee3@va.gov.