The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of mindfulness training and a drug called oxytocin on smoking.
Mindfulness training allows individuals to be present with their own emotions, thoughts, and bodily sensations without reactive judgment, and will be given in the form of daily audio recordings. Oxytocin is a naturally occurring hormone in the brain and throughout the body. It is also an FDA-approved drug to help induce labor in pregnant women. In this study, the use oxytocin is experimental and is in the form of a nasal spray.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
20
A single 40 IU dose of Pitocin (oxytocin, USP; concentration = 10 IU/1 mL; PAR Pharmaceuticals, NY, USA) will be self-administered to each participant. Each 40 IU dose will be transferred into four, 1 ml intranasal atomizers and will be administered in four sprays to each nostril over the course of 15 minutes.
Participants will be instructed to listen to and practice a 20-minute guided mediation each day for 7 days prior to the experimental session. The guided mindfulness practices will include body scan and seated stillness meditations.
A single 40mL doses of sterile saline (0.9% provided by USC pharmacy) will be transferred into four, 1 ml intranasal atomizers and will be self-administered in four sprays to each nostril over the course of 15 minutes.
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, United States
Smoking Lapse Analogue Task (delay score)
This task measures ability to resist the temptation to initiate smoking under conditions in which it is advantageous to remain abstinent. The "delay score" is the number of minutes before participants begin smoking (0-50 min).
Time frame: 2 hours after nasal spray administration
Trier Social Stress Test
This test measures self-reported responses to stress in a lab setting over the course of 30 minutes through salivary cortisol and heart rate variability.
Time frame: 1 hour after nasal spray administration
Systolic blood pressure
Time frame: Throughout study completion, an average of two weeks.
Diastolic blood pressure
Time frame: Throughout study completion, an average of two weeks.
Heart rate
Time frame: Throughout study completion, an average of two weeks.
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The mindfulness sham group will be required to listen to 20-minutes of Tedtalk podcasts each day that match the attention and time of the mindfulness group. Participants will be instructed to listen to two 10-minutes segments per day in succession between lab visits while in a seated posture.