Tobacco addiction remains a major public health problem. The overall goal of this research project is to test whether one form of meditation training (integrative body mind training, IBMT) changes brain circuits involved in smoking addiction and if IBMT improves autonomic activity sensitive in smoking withdrawal symptoms. The proposed two-year project will therefore address three issues in nicotine addiction (i) whether short-term IBMT changes the brain connectivity between the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and striatum involved in smoking addiction (ii) if IBMT improves the parasympathetic activity indexed by heart rate variability (HRV) and skin conductance response (SCR) and (iii) if changes in this circuitry correlate with reduction of smoking and of withdrawal symptoms. Smokers will be chosen from extensive databases available at the Oregon Research Institute. Verification will use the Fagerstr'm Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), Tobacco Craving Questionnaire (TCQ) and interview to classify the level of addiction and frequency of smoking. Participants will be randomly assigned to IBMT or relaxation training groups. To ensure IBMT increases activity and connectivity in the ACC-Striatal circuit in this group we will conduct fMRI studies to scan participants at rest before and after 2-week training of IBMT and relaxation. Nicotine addiction also involves physiological changes, especially during nicotine withdrawal. Previous studies suggest that decreasing high-frequency HRV (lower parasympathetic activity) could be a biomarker for the withdrawal symptoms. IBMT has been found to improve parasympathetic activity indexed by greater high-frequency HRV and thus could help reduce the withdrawal symptoms resulting from malfunctions of the autonomic nervous system. Based on our previous work these changes should occur in two weeks. In addition a smoker in our current study showed this pattern after 5 days of IBMT and reported greatly reduced smoking habit and withdrawal symptoms in two weeks. In addition to brain imaging, each subject will also be assessed before and after training with the Attention Network Test (ANT), Adult Temperament Questionnaire (ATQ), Profiles of Mood States (POMS), FTND and TCQ to get the attention efficiency/self-regulation ability and mood states. These behavioral assays will provide the evidences for the intervention effects. Each person will be followed up with the behavioral assays 3 and 6 months after the training. To measure the success of the training on tobacco use we examine changes in the FTD and TCQ in each group, we conduct the correlation analysis between resting connectivity in the ACC-Striatal circuit and the scores of FTD and TCQ. If successful, these studies will provide an effective, inexpensive and harmless method of reducing tobacco addiction.
Tobacco addiction remains a major public health problem. The overall goal of this research project is to test whether one form of meditation training (integrative body mind training, IBMT) changes brain circuits involved in smoking addiction and if IBMT improves autonomic activity sensitive in smoking withdrawal symptoms. The proposed two-year project will therefore address three issues in nicotine addiction (i) whether short-term IBMT changes the brain connectivity between the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and striatum involved in smoking addiction (ii) if IBMT improves the parasympathetic activity indexed by heart rate variability (HRV) and skin conductance response (SCR) and (iii) if changes in this circuitry correlate with reduction of smoking and of withdrawal symptoms. Tobacco addiction remains a major public health problem. If successful, these studies will provide an effective, inexpensive and harmless method of reducing tobacco addiction.
| Tang, Yi-Yuan; Posner, Michael I; Rothbart, Mary K (2014) Meditation improves self-regulation over the life span. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1307:104-111 |
| Tang, Yi-Yuan; Tang, Rongxiang; Posner, Michael I (2013) Brief meditation training induces smoking reduction. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 110:13971-5 |
| Tang, Yi-Yuan; Posner, Michael I (2013) Tools of the trade: theory and method in mindfulness neuroscience. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 8:118-20 |
| Tang, Yi-Yuan; Yang, Lizhu; Leve, Leslie D et al. (2012) Improving Executive Function and its Neurobiological Mechanisms through a Mindfulness-Based Intervention: Advances within the Field of Developmental Neuroscience. Child Dev Perspect 6:361-366 |
| Tang, Yi-Yuan; Rothbart, Mary K; Posner, Michael I (2012) Neural correlates of establishing, maintaining, and switching brain states. Trends Cogn Sci 16:330-7 |
| Tang, Yi-Yuan; Lu, Qilin; Fan, Ming et al. (2012) Mechanisms of white matter changes induced by meditation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 109:10570-4 |
| Tang, Yi-Yuan; Lu, Qilin; Geng, Xiujuan et al. (2010) Short-term meditation induces white matter changes in the anterior cingulate. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 107:15649-52 |
