VR goggles could reveal secrets of smoking cravings
NCT ID NCT06582888
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at whether virtual reality (VR) can measure how smokers pay attention to smoking-related cues, which may help understand nicotine addiction. Two hundred daily smokers will take either a medication (varenicline) or a placebo, and their eye movements and cravings will be tracked in VR. The goal is to see if VR-based attention bias can serve as a reliable marker for tobacco use disorder.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Early phase 1
The earliest testing in people: a first look at safety, in a very small group.
- Participants
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About 200 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2024
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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22 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: In order to be eligible to participate in this study, an individual must meet all of the following criteria: 1. Provision of signed and dated informed consent form 2. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study 3. Persons, aged 22+ 4. Ability to take oral medication and be willing to adhere to the dosing regimen 5. For participants able to become pregnant: use of highly effective contraception during study enrollment 6. Current daily tobacco use (use on 7 days per week, on average, ≥5 cigarettes per day, in the previous 3 months) 7. Tobacco use history ≥3 years 8. Endorsement of past week nicotine craving Exclusion Criteria: 1. Contraindications/conditions with special precautions for varenicline treatment (i.e., history of serious hypersensitivity or skin reactions to varenicline, history of severe renal impairment, seizures, severe cardiovascular disease, chronic or severe nausea, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, erythema multiforme, pregnancy or nursing) 2. Medical or psychiatric history affecting brain development (i.e., history and/or treatment of neurologic disorders, severe head trauma with loss of consciousness \>2 minutes, or current severe Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th edition (DSM-5) psychiatric disorders other than tobacco use disorders) 3. Current suicidal ideation or history of suicide attempt or self-mutilatory acts in the past 12 months 4. Other recreational drug use in the past 30 days (besides alcohol and cannabis) verified by oral and urine fluid toxicology 5. Visual/vestibular problems that may make task completion difficult (i.e., motion sickness, difficulty balancing, blindness) 6. Treatment seeking for tobacco use disorder/intent to quit within 30 days
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The study's own enquiry address
This study publishes an address for enquiries. See it below .
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
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Contacts and locations
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Study contacts
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Contact
Email: •••••@•••••
Locations
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University California, San Diego
RECRUITINGSan Diego, California, 92093, United States
Contact Email: •••••@•••••
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