Circuitry-Guided Smoking Cessation in Schizophrenia

Principal Investigator: Xiaoming Du, PhD

Study Contact

Name: Alina Siatka

Phone Number: 713-486-2740

This study is currently looking for people who:

Are 22 to 65 years old
Are diagnosed with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder
Are current cigarette smokers
Have no seizure or epilepsy history

Study Description:

The purpose of this study is to investigate TMS treatment options for people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders who want to quit smoking. Neuroimaging studies suggest that high rate of smoking in patients with schizophrenia may be due to an overlap of nicotine addiction-related brain circuitries and schizophrenia-related brain circuitries, such that schizophrenia impacts some of the same circuitries that increase risks for severe nicotine addiction in general.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) provides a non-invasive means for temproarily altering brain electrical neural activity. Standard TMS has been approved by FDA for the treatment of depression. Its applications have not been approved for smoking cessation but it has been used in a wide range of clinical research, especially in neurology and psychiatry.

We will be using two different versions of the TMS, one only approved for depression treatment by the FDA, and another that is FDA-cleared for short-term smoking cessation in the general population, but its efficacy in schizophrenia spectrum disorders has not been evaluated. We are hoping to compare the efficacy of different TMS treatments in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and develop a TMS method targeting special brain circuits that are both smoking cessation and schizophrenia-related.

All participants will be compensated for their time.