Aerobic Exercise and Inhibitory Control (AMIAEIC)

The Effects of Acute Aerobic Exercise on Inhibitory Control in Temporarily Abstinent Smokers

Although more than half of Canadian smokers in 2015 attempted to quit, with one-third attempting more than once, successful smoking cessation (quitting) remains a challenge. Relapse (return to smoking) has been attributed to failures in inhibitory control. Inhibitory control is the ability to suppress actions. Previous studies have identified that aerobic exercise improves inhibitory control and reduces the urge to smoke. This study will examine whether an acute bout of moderate intensity aerobic exercise (i.e. brisk walk on a treadmill) will improve inhibitory control, increase time to first cigarette smoked, and reduce urges to smoke during a brief period of abstinence. Inhibitory control will be assessed using the antisaccade task, which requires the participant to shift their gaze away from a visual target presented to them. Phase I will include assessments of smoking behaviours, physical activity levels, urges to smoke, and inhibitory control. Phase II will consist of a 12-hour smoking abstinence period conducted at home, followed by reassessment of urges to smoke and inhibitory control. Participants will then be randomized to either 20 minutes of aerobic exercise or sitting. Following the intervention, reassessment of urges to smoke, inhibitory control, and time to first cigarette smoked will be conducted.

Study Overview

• Status: Withdrawn
• Conditions: Smoking Cessation; Inhibition (Psychology)
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Exercise; Behavioral: Non-Exercise

Detailed Description

The participant will be provided a letter of information and an informed consent form. Once they have signed the informed consent form, the following procedures will take place:

Phase I:

• Initial biological confirmation of carbon monoxide reading: Participant will briefly blow air into a Smokelyzer (device which assesses how much carbon monoxide in parts per million is present in the breath of a smoker)

• Baseline questionnaires: Participant will be asked to fill out to the best of their ability the following questionnaires:

  1. Demographic questionnaire (Asks you identifiable information concerning, your age, email telephone number)
  2. Smoking history questionnaire ("What is the approximate date and time of the last cigarette you have smoked?")
  3. Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence ("How many cigarettes do you smoke each day?")
  4. Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire ("In the last 7 days, how many times have you completed mild intensity exercise for 15 minutes or more?")
  5. Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire ("Do you feel pain in your chest at rest?")
  6. Urge to Smoke ("I have an urge for a cigarette")
  7. Heart rate will be measured with a heart rate monitor. Blood pressure will be measured with an electronic blood pressure cuff.
• Cognitive computer task: Participant will be asked to complete a computer task which assesses inhibitory control (the cognitive ability to suppress responses to stimuli). The Antisaccade Task will be used to assess inhibitory control in this study.

Phase II:

• Smoking abstinence period: The participant will be instructed at the end of Phase I that they will have to complete a 12 hour smoking abstinence period (refraining from smoking cigarettes or consumption of any tobacco products) at home before coming back into the lab. The participant will be also notified that the co-investigator will be able to assess whether they completed this abstinence period through assessing the carbon monoxide reading on the Smokelyzer.
• Biological confirmation of carbon monoxide reading: Participant will briefly blow air into a Smokelyzer (device which assess how much carbon monoxide in parts per million is present in the breath of a smoker). The participant will have to blow below 10 parts per million carbon monoxide to have successfully abstained and thus participate in Phase II.

• Questionnaire: Participant will be asked to fill out to the best of their ability the following questionnaire:

  f. Urge to Smoke ("I have an urge for a cigarette")

• Cognitive Computer Task: Participant will complete the same Antisaccade Task as outlined in Phase I.
• Intervention Participant will be randomly assigned (through a randomly generated number sequence) to either 20 minutes of aerobic exercise or 20 minutes of sitting.
• Aerobic Exercise Intervention: The participant will complete a 20 minute walking exercise on a treadmill.
• Non Exercise: The participant will be in a seated position in the lab waiting room. They will be provided with magazines and computer access.
• Post Intervention:

• Questionnaire: Participant will be asked to fill out to the best of their ability the following questionnaire:

  f. Urge to Smoke ("I have an urge for a cigarette")

The participant will then be told to notify the co-investigator of when they light their next cigarette through a time-stamped email or text message. The time in minutes from when they leave the lab (time: 0) until the message is received will be calculated.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Dr.Harry Prapavessis; Phone Number: 80173 519-661-2111; Email: hprapave@uwo.ca
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Anisa Morava, BSc; Phone Number: 519-993-2866; Email: amorava@uwo.ca

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 64 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18-64 years of age
• Smoke at least 10 cigarettes per day (or more) for at least 6 months
• Able to perform a twenty-minute exercise task at a moderate intensity (2/3 of participant's maximum heart rate) without health implications
• Can read and write in English
• Have email or phone number for contacting purposes

Exclusion Criteria:

• Do not have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
• Do not have a medical condition that prevents you from exercise (e.g. heart attack in the past year, heart disease, irregular heartbeat, etc.)
• Do not have history of eye injury or neurological impairment
• Do not have an orthopaedic limitation
• Are not pregnant

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Exercise; Aerobic exercise intervention	Behavioral: Exercise; 20 minutes of aerobic exercise (walking on a treadmill) at 2/3 of participant's maximum heart rate (maximum heart rate calculated as 220-age).
Active Comparator: Non-Exercise; Non-aerobic exercise intervention	Behavioral: Non-Exercise; 20 minutes of sitting in the laboratory with access to magazines and the internet.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Inhibitory Control	Cognitive computer task: Participant will be asked to complete a computer task which assesses inhibitory control (the cognitive ability to suppress responses to stimuli). The Antisaccade Task will be used to assess inhibitory control in this study. A saccade is a rapid eye movement towards a visual target. An antisaccade is a rapid eye movement away from a visual target. The ability to suppress making an eye movement towards a visual target gauges inhibitory control. The participant will be seated in a chair facing a computer screen in which visual stimuli (a cross) will appear. The participant will be fitted into a chin rest and a monocle will be adjusted so that images of eye movements can be assessed. A training phase will take place at the beginning of the task to familiarize the participant with the instructions. The participant will make a series of saccades and antisaccades. The reaction times and directional errors to the visual stimuli will be recorded.	24 hours post participant start date

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Urge to Smoke	Questionnaire: 1 item from the Questionnaire of Smoking Urges (QSU) will be used to assess the urge to smoke.	24 hours post participant start date
Time to First Cigarette	The time to first cigarette post intervention will be calculated from time 0 being when the participant leaves the lab until the co-investigator receives a time-stamped message from the participant that they have light their first cigarette.	24 hours post participant start date

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Western University, Canada
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Dr.Harry Prapavessis, Western University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): April 1, 2018
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2018
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2019

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 9, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 14, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): February 22, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): March 4, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 29, 2024
• Last Verified: February 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Aerobic exercise; Adults; Antisaccades; Urge to Smoke
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1795AM

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: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No