Effects of Nicotine on Areas of Impaired and Preserved Functioning in Schizophrenia
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT01034085. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
Background: * Some people with schizophrenia have problems with their working memory and paying attention for extended periods. These difficulties cannot be treated with antipsychotic medications or with many standard therapies. * The prevalence of cigarette smoking among individuals with schizophrenia is about three times higher than in the general population. Research has shown that nicotine, the addictive component found in cigarettes, can help improve attentional and working memory performance. Researchers are interested in learning more about whether there may be an overlap in the cognitive functions beneficially affected by nicotine and areas of dysfunction in individuals with schizophrenia. Objectives: * To evaluate the potential of transdermal nicotine to alleviate cognitive deficits in schizophrenia, and to determine whether naturally maintained cigarette-smoking, in comparison, is an effective self-medication. * To gather preliminary data on genetics that may account for individual and group differences in the performance effects of nicotine. Eligibility: \- Current smokers (25 or more cigarettes per week for at least 1 year) between 18 and 55 years of age who are either healthy volunteers or have been diagnosed with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder. Design: * The study will require five visits to the research center, with an initial screening visit, a training session, and three test sessions. Ideally, all visits will occur 1 week apart. * Training session: Participants will receive training on the types of computerized cognitive and attentional behavior tests that will be given during the active portion of the study. Participants will also fill out questionnaires on nicotine use and other alcohol and drug use. * Test sessions: Participants will be assigned to random groups and will complete tests that assess cognitive performance (a) while maintaining their usual smoking behavior, (b) after minimal deprivation (3.5 hours without smoking) while wearing a placebo patch, and (c) under the influence of a standard nicotine patch. The order of these sessions will be different for individual participants. * Participants will provide blood samples throughout the research study for evaluation purposes.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT01034085
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Study type
- Observational
- Phase
- Not listed
- Enrollment
- 62 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Interventions
Not listed
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 18 Years to 55 Years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepts healthy volunteers
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- Jun 2, 2009 (Type not available)
- Primary completion
- Not listed
- Completion
- Jun 11, 2013 (Type not available)
- Last update posted
- Apr 5, 2018
2009 – 2013
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland Psychiatric Research Center (MPRC) 55 Wade Avenue | Catonsville | Maryland | 21228 | — |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT01034085, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Apr 5, 2018 · Synced Oct 2, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete public registry record, listed eligibility criteria, and available contact information for NCT01034085 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.