A new grant-funded study led by two Yale School of Medicine researchers will investigate deficient sleep as a mechanism of smoking relapse using a combined imaging study and clinical trial.
Chiang-Shan Ray Li, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry and of neuroscience, and Lisa Fucito, PhD, associate professor of psychiatry, are the principal investigators.
The study, “Neural Mechanisms Connecting Deficient Sleep and Smoking Relapse: An RCT of CBT for Insomnia in Adults Who Smoke,” is funded with a $2,294,027 grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the duration is five years.
Lack of sleep worsens mood, reduces self-control, and is a key withdrawal symptom in adults who smoke, often leading to relapse. This study aims to explore how improving sleep with a highly efficacious sleep intervention (CBT for insomnia (CBT-I)) can improve mood, increase self-control, and help people quit smoking and identify brain changes related to these effects.
By studying how CBT-I affects impulse control, emotion, and brain circuits, this research will provide new insights into both the brain mechanisms and treatment of tobacco use disorders.