Heavy drinking smokers constitute an important group of treatment resistant individuals. The study proposed herein seeks to add a neuroimaging component to the ongoing pharmacotherapy project in order to elucidate the neural basis of response to promising pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation in heavy drinkers. We propose to enroll a subset (n = 40;10 participants from each medication condition) of heavy drinking smokers randomized to one of the following four medication conditions: (1) varenicline (1 mg twice per day) alone;(2) naltrexone (25 mg once per day) alone;(3) varenicline + naltrexone;and (4) placebo. Participants will be matched on gender, alcohol use, and nicotine dependence severity. The proposed neuroimaging session will assess brain activity in response to smoking and alcohol cues. Based on previous research in this area, we propose to examine the following regions of interest (ROI): striatum, ventral tegmental area / substantia nigra (VTA / SN), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), and insula. The neuroimaging paradigms proposed herein will allow us to elucidate the pathways and functional neuroanatomy underlying the effects of a promising combination of pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation. The objective of this program of research is to optimize smoking cessation for heavy drinking smokers, a sizeable and treatment resistant subgroup of smokers.

Public Health Relevance

Heavy drinking smokers constitute an important group of treatment resistant individuals. The proposed study seeks to add a neuroimaging component to an ongoing study of combined medications for heavy drinking smokers in order to elucidate the neural basis of medication response. The proposed work aims to optimize smoking cessation for heavy drinking smokers, a sizeable and treatment resistant subgroup of smokers.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Small Research Grants (R03)
Project #
5R03DA030898-02
Application #
8145290
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-IFCN-L (50))
Program Officer
Kautz, Mary A
Project Start
2010-09-20
Project End
2012-08-31
Budget Start
2011-09-01
Budget End
2012-08-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2011
Total Cost
$37,345
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Los Angeles
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
092530369
City
Los Angeles
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90095
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Yardley, Megan M; Mirbaba, Michael M; Ray, Lara A (2015) Pharmacological Options for Smoking Cessation in Heavy-Drinking Smokers. CNS Drugs 29:833-45
Ray, Lara A; Courtney, Kelly E; Ghahremani, Dara G et al. (2015) Varenicline, naltrexone, and their combination for heavy-drinking smokers: preliminary neuroimaging findings. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 41:35-44
Roche, Daniel J O; Bujarski, Spencer; Hartwell, Emily et al. (2015) Combined varenicline and naltrexone treatment reduces smoking topography intensity in heavy-drinking smokers. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 134:92-8
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Bacio, Guadalupe A; Guzman, Iris Y; Shapiro, Jenessa R et al. (2014) Differences in quit attempts between non-Hispanic Black and White daily smokers: the role of smoking motives. Addict Behav 39:1769-72
Bujarski, Spencer; Ray, Lara A (2014) Negative affect is associated with alcohol, but not cigarette use in heavy drinking smokers. Addict Behav 39:1723-9
Ray, Lara A; Courtney, Kelly E; Ghahremani, Dara G et al. (2014) Varenicline, low dose naltrexone, and their combination for heavy-drinking smokers: human laboratory findings. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 231:3843-53