The objective of this study is to examine the cognitive, immunological, and neurophysiological effects of transitioning from tobacco cigarettes to electronic cigarettes. The central hypothesis of this study is that this transition will be accompanied by a decrease in peripheral inflammation, which will lead to significant changes in the neurocircuitry underlying interoception and appetite.
Participants who are current cigarette smokers will be randomly assigned to either the experimental or control groups. Following a baseline psychiatric assessment session, subjects will return to the study center for two to three additional follow-up visits. During the second visit, all subjects will undergo a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning session, during which they will perform a series of functional neuroimaging tasks designed to examine the neural substrates involved in visceral interoception and eating behavior. Prior to the start of the scan session, blood samples will be collected from each subject, for the measurement of bio-markers related to nicotine use and peripheral inflammation. After the end of the second visit, subjects within the experimental group will be asked to switch from combustible to electronic cigarettes. Subjects within the control group will continue to smoke combustible cigarettes as previously. During the third visit, which will follow two to eight weeks after the second visit, all subjects will provide a second blood sample and complete a second fMRI scan session. Both groups of participants will complete the same fMRI tasks as they did during the second visit.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
27
eGo-type electronic cigarette with a supply of 18mg/ml nicotine solution
Smoke own brand of cigarette as previously
Laureate Institute for Brain Research
Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
Change in overall levels of peripheral inflammatory cytokines
A composite measure of change in overall blood serum levels of multiple peripheral cytokines (CRP, TNF-alpha, sVCAM, IL-1RA, IL-6) between study visits two and three.
Time frame: 2-8 weeks
Change in cotinine levels
Change in serum cotinine levels between study visits two and three.
Time frame: 2-8 weeks
Frequency of Electronic Cigarette use
Daily use of electronic cigarette between study visits two and three.
Time frame: 2-8 weeks
Change in exhaled Carbon Monoxide
Change in exhaled Carbon Monoxide between study visits two and three.
Time frame: 2-8 weeks
Frequency of Tobacco Cigarette use
Average number of tobacco cigarettes smoked between study visits two and three.
Time frame: 2-8 weeks
Change in Blood Oxygen Level-Dependent (BOLD) resting state functional connectivity during fMRI
Difference in resting-state functional connectivity between brain regions, measured by z-scores of correlated spontaneous fluctuations of the BOLD fMRI signal, between study visits two and three.
Time frame: 2-8 weeks
Change in BOLD fMRI response during interoception
Difference in the brain's hemodynamic response during a task of interoceptive attention to visceral signals, measured by percent change of the BOLD fMRI signal, between study visits two and three.
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Time frame: 2-8 weeks
Change in BOLD fMRI response to food pictures
Difference in the brain's hemodynamic response to viewing pictures of appetizing food, measured by percent change of the BOLD fMRI signal, between study visits two and three.
Time frame: 2-8 weeks