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Episodic Future Thinking, Loss Aversion and Cigarette Smoking

Studies

Study First Submitted Date 2021-10-20
Study First Posted Date 2021-11-08
Last Update Posted Date 2023-02-28
Start Month Year April 1, 2024
Primary Completion Month Year July 31, 2028
Verification Month Year February 2023
Verification Date 2023-02-28
Last Update Posted Date 2023-02-28

Detailed Descriptions

Sequence: 20831121
Description Specific Aim 1: Examine in a controlled laboratory study using a randomized parallel-group design whether an intervention that increases LA among 138 current adult daily cigarette smokers (≥21 years; 50% male/50% female) also (1) decreases cigarette smoking and (2) can improve with practice and (3) sustain effectiveness at a follow-up assessment. Potential influence of DD, other self-control, and potential sociodemographic confounders will be accounted for in all analyses. Hypothesis 1.1: EFT will increase LA and reduce cigarette smoking (i.e., smoking rate). (Primary) Hypothesis 1.2: Changes in LA will mediate the effect of EFT on cigarette smoking independent of changes in DD, and relevant self-control related factors. (Primary) Hypothesis 1.3: EFT effects will be greater following Extended compared to Brief training. (Secondary) Hypothesis 1.4: Changes in LA and smoking rate sustained at follow up will be mediated by EFT habit learning indexed by the perceived automaticity of cue generation with extended EFT practice. (Exploratory)

Conditions

Sequence: 52452087
Name Tobacco Smoking
Downcase Name tobacco smoking

Id Information

Sequence: 40359593
Id Source org_study_id
Id Value FP00002058

Design Groups

Sequence: 55905505 Sequence: 55905506 Sequence: 55905507
Group Type Experimental Group Type Experimental Group Type Sham Comparator
Title Extended Episodic Future Thinking Title Brief Episodic Future Thinking Title Control
Description Participants will receive Episodic Future Thinking practice for 8 sessions. Description Participants will receive Episodic Future Thinking practice for 2 sessions. Description Participants will receive sham Episodic Recent Thinking intervention.

Interventions

Sequence: 52762162 Sequence: 52762163
Intervention Type Behavioral Intervention Type Behavioral
Name Episodic Future Thinking Name Control Episodic Thinking
Description Episodic Future Thinking involves generating positive, autobiographical events that could realistically occur following each of five delays in the subsequent DD task: 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 1 year. Participants will be told to not include events related specifically to smoking. Using a five-point Likert scale, participants will rate each event according to four dimensions: vividness, enjoyment, importance, and excitement. The event rated the most vivid at each time frame will be chosen for use in subsequent behavioral testing (ties will be settled randomly). Participants will then be recorded reciting a self-created two or three-sentence summary of each event. These recordings will serve as audio cues. Participants will also create abbreviated versions of each description to serve as text cues. Description Control Episodic Thinking will report three real, positive events that occurred earlier in the session while playing mobile video games. Participants will be told to not include events related specifically to smoking. Using a five-point Likert scale, participants will rate each event according to four dimensions: vividness, enjoyment, importance, and excitement. The event rated the most vivid at each time frame will be chosen for use in subsequent behavioral testing (ties will be settled randomly). Participants will then be recorded reciting a self-created two or three-sentence summary of each event. These recordings will serve as audio cues. Participants will also create abbreviated versions of each description to serve as text cues.

Design Outcomes

Sequence: 178434706 Sequence: 178434707 Sequence: 178434708
Outcome Type primary Outcome Type primary Outcome Type secondary
Measure Loss aversion Measure Cigarette self-administration Measure Delay discounting
Time Frame 30 days Time Frame 30 days Time Frame 30 days
Description Loss aversion will be measured with a gamble task developed by Tom et al. (2007). Participants will choose whether to accept or reject each of a series of hypothetical lotteries offering a 50-50 chance of a monetary loss and a monetary gain. Participants will indicate their decision to play a lottery by clicking on accept or reject buttons (strongly accept, accept, reject, strongly reject) located on the screen below the amounts (Figure 2). The task will consist of a series of 49 trials presenting each combination of 7 possible gains (+$2, +$12, +$22, +$32, +$42, +$52, and +$62) and 7 possible losses (-$1, -$6, -$11, -$16, -$21, -$26, and -$31). Combinations of gains and losses will be presented in random order. Description All participants will complete a 60-min self-administration task, in which they can earn single cigarette puffs for every 10 clicks on a moving circle on a computer screen. After completing each response requirement, participants will self-administer 1 cigarette puff. Target cigarette puff volume will be standardized at approximately 70 mL and participants will be instructed to light a cigarette without inhaling, place it in a cigarette holder connected to the pressure sensor, and inhale from the cigarette while estimated puff volume is displayed on the computer screen in real time. The displayed puff volume will turn from white to red at 60 ml and signal the approximate time participants should stop inhaling to reach 70 ml. Participants will have practiced this procedure prior to the task. Participants will be instructed that they can smoke as much or as little as they want during the task. Description Delay discounting will be measured with a standard adjusting-amount task. This task used to measure intervention effects on delay discounting (e.g., Stein et al., 2016). At each of five delays, participants will choose between two different hypothetical amounts: $1,000.00 available after a delay or a smaller amount of money available immediately. The smaller amount will be titrated across six consecutive trials until reaching a point of subjective equality between choice options. Delays will be presented in random order. The value of the smaller amount at indifference indexes the discounted value of the larger option at each delay. This titration process will repeat at each of five delays: 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 1 year.

Sponsors

Sequence: 48580165
Agency Class OTHER
Lead Or Collaborator lead
Name University of Vermont

Overall Officials

Sequence: 29432250
Role Principal Investigator
Name ERIC A THRAILKILL, PHD
Affiliation University of Vermont

Central Contacts

Sequence: 12081352
Contact Type primary
Name Eric A Thrailkill, PhD
Phone 802 656-2669
Email eric.thrailkill@uvm.edu
Role Contact

Design Group Interventions

Sequence: 68534121 Sequence: 68534122 Sequence: 68534123
Design Group Id 55905506 Design Group Id 55905505 Design Group Id 55905507
Intervention Id 52762162 Intervention Id 52762162 Intervention Id 52762163

Eligibilities

Sequence: 30926599
Gender All
Minimum Age 21 Years
Maximum Age N/A
Healthy Volunteers Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Criteria Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria Inclusion criteria: Adult ≥ age 21 years. Able to provide informed, written consent. Smoke an average of at least five (5) cigarettes per day for at least one year. Breath CO levels > 8 ppm. If breath CO is less than 8 ppm, we will administer a urine test (NicAlert Strip) and include if result is greater than 2. Desire to quit smoking, but not actively trying to quit or currently taking medications to aid smoking cessation (e.g, varenicline, bupropion). US citizen or a permanent resident alien with a green card Comfortable reading and writing in English Exclusion criteria: Currently seeking treatment for smoking cessation. Use of tobacco products other than traditional combusted cigarettes on more than 9 of the previous 30 days Positive urine toxicological screen for illicit drug use (i.e., amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, buprenorphine, opiates, methadone, oxycodone, phencyclidine). a. A positive test for marijuana (THC) will not result in exclusion from the study. d) Breath alcohol level (BAL) at <.01 (Alco-Sensor IV, Intoximeter, Inc., St Louis, MO) at intake. a. Participants failing the toxicological screen will be allowed to re-screened for the study. These participants will complete the informed consent process an additional time before being re-screened. e) Recent or current psychiatric episode to be determined with DSM-V criteria. f) Non-correctable vision or hearing impairments. g) Inability to independently read and comprehend written materials (consent form, other study materials and measures). h) Currently pregnant (to be determined with a pregnancy test) or trying to become pregnant. i) Currently breastfeeding. j) Exclusive use of "roll your own" cigarettes.
Adult True
Child False
Older Adult True

Calculated Values

Sequence: 254200326
Registered In Calendar Year 2021
Were Results Reported False
Has Single Facility False
Minimum Age Num 21
Minimum Age Unit Years
Number Of Primary Outcomes To Measure 2
Number Of Secondary Outcomes To Measure 1

Designs

Sequence: 30672257
Allocation Randomized
Intervention Model Parallel Assignment
Observational Model
Primary Purpose Basic Science
Time Perspective
Masking Single
Intervention Model Description Randomized parallel group design
Subject Masked True

Responsible Parties

Sequence: 29038975
Responsible Party Type Principal Investigator
Name Eric A Thrailkill
Title Research Assistant Professor
Affiliation University of Vermont

Study References

Sequence: 52361735 Sequence: 52361736
Pmid 27553824 Pmid 17255512
Reference Type background Reference Type background
Citation Stein JS, Wilson AG, Koffarnus MN, Daniel TO, Epstein LH, Bickel WK. Unstuck in time: episodic future thinking reduces delay discounting and cigarette smoking. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2016 Oct;233(21-22):3771-3778. doi: 10.1007/s00213-016-4410-y. Epub 2016 Aug 23. Citation Tom SM, Fox CR, Trepel C, Poldrack RA. The neural basis of loss aversion in decision-making under risk. Science. 2007 Jan 26;315(5811):515-8. doi: 10.1126/science.1134239.

Ipd Information Types

Sequence: 3357441
Name Study Protocol