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Clinical Trial Summary

This is a pilot project using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the influence of varenicline on reward processing, cognitive control, and regulation of craving in adolescent smokers. We hypothesize that adolescent smokers receiving varenicline, when compared with those receiving placebo, will have differential brain responses to anticipation of rewards, during exposure to the Stroop task, and in response to tobacco cues.


Clinical Trial Description

This is a pilot project using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the influence of varenicline on reward processing, cognitive control, and regulation of craving in adolescent smokers. We hypothesize that adolescent smokers receiving varenicline, when compared with those receiving placebo, will have increased activation of the ventral striatum (VS) in response to anticipation of rewards in the Monetary Incentive Delay Task (MIDT), decreased activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) during exposure to incongruent stimuli in the Stroop task, and reduced activation of the ventral striatum in response to tobacco cues, and increased activation of the dlPFC during regulation of responses to tobacco cues during the Regulation of Craving (ROC) task. The results of this pilot project will have important implications regarding the use of varenicline for treating tobacco dependence and understanding varenicline's neurobiological effects in adolescent smokers. ;


Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Pharmacokinetics Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Double Blind (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator), Primary Purpose: Basic Science


Related Conditions & MeSH terms


NCT number NCT01624428
Study type Interventional
Source Yale University
Contact
Status Completed
Phase Phase 1
Start date June 2012
Completion date December 2013