NCT05018117

Effects of Nicotine and Attention on Frequency Tuning in Auditory Cortex

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: EARLY_Phase 1
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 48 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of California, Berkeley · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 85 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

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.

Conditions

• Aging

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	Nicotine gum	The effects of over-the-counter nicotine gum will be compared to a placebo gum
OTHER	Placebo gum	The effects of over-the-counter nicotine gum will be compared to a placebo gum

Timeline

• Start date: 2022-06-06
• Primary completion: 2025-12-31
• Completion: 2025-12-31
• First posted: 2021-08-24
• Last updated: 2024-04-12

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated drug study