Effects of Nicotine and Attention on Frequency Tuning in Auditory Cortex

April 11, 2024 updated by: University of California, Berkeley

Nicotine enhances auditory-cognitive function because it mimics the brain's system for "paying attention" to important sounds amid distractions (for example, understanding speech in a noisy environment). In part, nicotine does this by activating inhibitory neurons in the auditory cortex. Since age-related hearing deficits result, in part, from the loss of inhibitory neurons in auditory cortex, this project will determine whether nicotine's effects can compensate for reduced inhibition in the aging auditory cortex and thereby restore auditory function.

The investigators will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure the selectivity of responses in auditory cortex to tones of various frequencies. The investigators will measure the effects of nicotine (administered as chewing gum) and aging on these fMRI response properties. The investigators hypothesize that frequency selectivity will decrease with aging and increase following nicotine administration.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
48

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Early Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Berkeley, California, United States, 94720
        • Recruiting
        • University of California, Berkeley
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 85 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • non-smokers with a score of 0-2 out of 10 maximum on the Fagerström index of smoking dependency

Exclusion Criteria:

  • deafness or excessive hearing loss
  • smokers with a score between 3 and 10 on the Fagerström index of smoking dependency
  • history of psychiatric illness, neurological disorders, diabetes mellitus, renal failure, or cardiovascular disease
  • regular use of prescription medications (excluding oral contraceptives)
  • drug dependency

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Young (18-28 years) participants - nicotine gum
6 mg nicotine gum, one time before fMRI measurements
Drug: Nicotine gum
The effects of over-the-counter nicotine gum will be compared to a placebo gum
Other Names:
  • polacrilex
Experimental: Old (60-85 years) participants - nicotine gum
6 mg nicotine gum, one time before fMRI measurements
Drug: Nicotine gum
The effects of over-the-counter nicotine gum will be compared to a placebo gum
Other Names:
  • polacrilex
Placebo Comparator: Young (18-28 years) participants - placebo gum
placebo gum, one time before fMRI measurements
Other: Placebo gum
The effects of over-the-counter nicotine gum will be compared to a placebo gum
Placebo Comparator: Old (60-85 years) participants - placebo gum
placebo gum, one time before fMRI measurements
Other: Placebo gum
The effects of over-the-counter nicotine gum will be compared to a placebo gum

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
frequency tuning of excitatory auditory fMRI cortical responses
Time Frame: Functional MRI recordings will begin approximately 30 minutes after oral administration of polacrilex or placebo gum and will continue for up to two hours.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) responses to pure tone stimuli ranging from 88-8000 Hz will be recorded. For each voxel in objectively identified auditory cortical area, a tuning curve model will be fit to the data. One of the parameters of this model is the width of frequency tuning of excitatory responses, and this is the primary outcome measure.
Functional MRI recordings will begin approximately 30 minutes after oral administration of polacrilex or placebo gum and will continue for up to two hours.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
frequency tuning of inhibitory auditory fMRI cortical responses
Time Frame: Functional MRI recordings will begin approximately 30 minutes after oral administration of polacrilex or placebo gum and will continue for up to two hours.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) responses to pure tone stimuli ranging from 88-8000 Hz will be recorded. For each voxel in objectively identified auditory cortical area, a tuning curve model will be fit to the data. One of the parameters of this model is the width of frequency tuning of inhibitory responses, and this is Outcome 2.
Functional MRI recordings will begin approximately 30 minutes after oral administration of polacrilex or placebo gum and will continue for up to two hours.
amplitude of excitatory auditory fMRI cortical responses
Time Frame: Functional MRI recordings will begin approximately 30 minutes after oral administration of polacrilex or placebo gum and will continue for up to two hours.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) responses to pure tone stimuli ranging from 88-8000 Hz will be recorded. For each voxel in objectively identified auditory cortical area, a tuning curve model will be fit to the data. One of the parameters of this model is the amplitude of excitatory responses, and this is Outcome 3.
Functional MRI recordings will begin approximately 30 minutes after oral administration of polacrilex or placebo gum and will continue for up to two hours.
amplitude of inhibitory auditory fMRI cortical responses
Time Frame: Functional MRI recordings will begin approximately 30 minutes after oral administration of polacrilex or placebo gum and will continue for up to two hours.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) responses to pure tone stimuli ranging from 88-8000 Hz will be recorded. For each voxel in objectively identified auditory cortical area, a tuning curve model will be fit to the data. One of the parameters of this model is the amplitude of inhibitory responses, and this is Outcome 4.
Functional MRI recordings will begin approximately 30 minutes after oral administration of polacrilex or placebo gum and will continue for up to two hours.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of California, Berkeley

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Michael A Silver, PhD, University of California, Berkeley

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 6, 2022

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 11, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 17, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 24, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 12, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 11, 2024

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2018-12-11682
  • R01AG067073-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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