Nicotinic Modulation of the Default Network of Resting Brain Function
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT01240616. 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: \- A brain circuit called the default network is the brain circuit that is active when the brain is at rest; that is, when individuals are not concentrating on specific tasks. Previous research has shown that the default network functions differently in people with schizophrenia and Alzheimer s disease, and may contribute to the problems with memory and concentration that can affect people who have these conditions. Studies have also shown that nicotine affects the default network, but more research is needed on the ways in which nicotinic receptors may change activity in these regions and thereby affect individuals ability to concentrate on specific tasks. Objectives: \- To determine whether and how nicotine and mecamylamine, a drug that blocks nicotinic receptors, affect the default network in nonsmokers in ways that improve thinking and concentration. Eligibility: * Healthy, right-handed volunteers between 21 and 50 years of age. * Volunteers must not have used any kind of tobacco product in the past 2 years. Design: * This study involves an initial screening visit, a training visit, and three testing visits. * Participants will be screened with a medical history and physical examination, as well as blood and urine samples and questions about smoking history. * Participants will have an initial training session to practice the tasks that will be done during magnetic resonance imaging scans at the testing visits. These tasks will test participants concentration and memory. * Participants will have three test sessions with the following combinations of study drugs: (1) a nicotine patch and a placebo capsule, (2) a placebo patch and a capsule of mecamylamine, or (3) a placebo patch and capsule. Different combinations will be given at each visit, and participants will not know which one they receive. * Participants will perform the same concentration and memory tasks at each testing visit, and will provide a blood sample after each visit to determine levels of nicotine and mecamylamine.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT01240616
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Study type
- Observational
- Phase
- Not listed
- Enrollment
- 43 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Interventions
Not listed
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 21 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
- Oct 23, 2010
- Primary completion
- Not listed
- Completion
- Dec 23, 2014
- Last update posted
- Jul 4, 2018
2010 – 2014
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 2
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 2
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Institute on Drug Abuse, Biomedical Research Center (BRC) | Baltimore | Maryland | 21224 | — |
| University of Maryland at Baltimore/MPRC | 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 NCT01240616, 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 Jul 4, 2018 · Synced Sep 8, 2026
Related: full search, browse by condition, browse by drug or therapy, browse by sponsor, browse by U.S. city.
Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT01240616 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.