Intranasal oxytocin dampens cue-elicited cigarette craving in daily smokers: a pilot study
- PMID: 27661192
- PMCID: PMC5089916
- DOI: 10.1097/FBP.0000000000000260
Intranasal oxytocin dampens cue-elicited cigarette craving in daily smokers: a pilot study
Abstract
Despite moderate success with pharmacological and behavioral treatments, smoking relapse rates remain high, and many smokers report that smoking cues lead to relapse. Therefore, treatments that target cue reactivity are needed. One candidate for reducing craving is the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT). Here, we investigated the effects of intranasal OT on two types of craving for cigarettes: craving following overnight abstinence and craving elicited by smoking-related cues. In this within-subject, placebo-controlled pilot study, smokers (N=17) abstained from smoking for 12 h before attending two sessions randomized to intranasal OT or placebo (i.e. saline nasal spray). On each session, participants received two doses of OT (20 IU) or placebo at 1-h intervals, and rated craving before and after each dose. Spontaneous cigarette craving was assessed after the first spray, and cue-elicited craving was assessed following the second spray. OT did not reduce levels of spontaneous craving after the first spray, but significantly dampened cue-induced smoking craving. These results provide preliminary evidence that OT can reduce cue-induced smoking craving in smokers. These findings provide an important link between preclinical and clinical studies aimed at examining the effectiveness of OT as a novel treatment for drug craving.
Conflict of interest statement
Conflicts of Interest: None declared
Figures
![Figure 1](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/5089916/bin/nihms813239f1.gif)
![Figure 2](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/5089916/bin/nihms813239f2.gif)
![Figure 3](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/5089916/bin/nihms813239f3.gif)
Similar articles
-
Effects of Intranasal Oxytocin on Stress-Induced Cigarette Craving in Daily Smokers.Nicotine Tob Res. 2020 Jan 27;22(1):89-95. doi: 10.1093/ntr/nty159. Nicotine Tob Res. 2020. PMID: 30085292 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
-
Oxytocin Reduces Cigarette Consumption in Daily Smokers.Nicotine Tob Res. 2019 May 21;21(6):799-804. doi: 10.1093/ntr/nty080. Nicotine Tob Res. 2019. PMID: 29701814 Free PMC article.
-
The influence of gender and oxytocin on stress reactivity, cigarette craving, and smoking in a randomized, placebo-controlled laboratory relapse paradigm.Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2020 Feb;237(2):543-555. doi: 10.1007/s00213-019-05392-z. Epub 2019 Dec 3. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2020. PMID: 31792646 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
-
Differences in Magnitude of Cue Reactivity Across Durations of Smoking History: A Meta-analysis.Nicotine Tob Res. 2020 Jul 16;22(8):1267-1276. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntz071. Nicotine Tob Res. 2020. PMID: 31050735 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Can intranasal oxytocin reduce craving in automated addictive behaviours? A systematic review.Br J Pharmacol. 2021 Nov;178(21):4316-4334. doi: 10.1111/bph.15617. Epub 2021 Aug 31. Br J Pharmacol. 2021. PMID: 34235724 Review.
Cited by
-
Effects of systemic oxytocin receptor activation and blockade on risky decision making in female and male rats.bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 May 14:2024.05.13.593981. doi: 10.1101/2024.05.13.593981. bioRxiv. 2024. PMID: 38798601 Free PMC article. Preprint.
-
Methylation of the Oxytocin, Oxytocin Receptor, and Vasopressin Gene Promoters in Tobacco Use Disorder during Cessation.Neuropsychobiology. 2024;83(1):28-40. doi: 10.1159/000535663. Epub 2024 Jan 5. Neuropsychobiology. 2024. PMID: 38185116 Free PMC article.
-
Cue-reactivity targeted smoking cessation intervention in individuals with tobacco use disorder: a scoping review.Front Psychiatry. 2023 Sep 7;14:1167283. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1167283. eCollection 2023. Front Psychiatry. 2023. PMID: 37743997 Free PMC article. Review.
-
The dual neural effects of oxytocin in autistic youth: results from a randomized trial.Sci Rep. 2022 Sep 29;12(1):16304. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-19524-7. Sci Rep. 2022. PMID: 36175473 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
-
Effect of early life social adversity on drug abuse vulnerability: Focus on corticotropin-releasing factor and oxytocin.Neuropharmacology. 2021 Jun 15;191:108567. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108567. Epub 2021 Apr 13. Neuropharmacology. 2021. PMID: 33862030 Free PMC article. Review.
References
-
- Baker TB, Piper ME, McCarthy DE, Majeskie MR, Fiore MC. Addiction motivation reformulated: an affective processing model of negative reinforcement. Psychological review. 2004;111:33. - PubMed
-
- Baracz SJ, Rourke PI, Pardey MC, Hunt GE, McGregor IS, Cornish JL. Oxytocin directly administered into the nucleus accumbens core or subthalamic nucleus attenuates methamphetamine-induced conditioned place preference. Behavioural brain research. 2012;228:185–193. - PubMed
-
- Carson DS, Cornish JL, Guastella AJ, Hunt GE, McGregor IS. Oxytocin decreases methamphetamine self-administration, methamphetamine hyperactivity, and relapse to methamphetamine-seeking behaviour in rats. Neuropharmacology. 2010;58:38–43. - PubMed
-
- Conklin CA, Tiffany ST. The impact of imagining personalized versus standardized urge scenarios on cigarette craving and autonomic reactivity. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology. 2001;9:399. - PubMed
-
- Cox LS, Tiffany ST, Christen AG. Evaluation of the brief questionnaire of smoking urges (QSU-brief) in laboratory and clinical settings. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. 2001;3:7–16. - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical