Trial reportBiological psychiatry2009
Varenicline improves mood and cognition during smoking abstinence.
Trial report in Biological psychiatry, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 136 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Validation of a Novel Paradigm for Screening Medications for Nicotine Dependence
Examination of Sleep, Smoking Cessation, and Cardiovascular Health
Who cites it
136 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 221 citations in OpenAlex.
- Nicotine receptor partial agonists for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of varenicline and bupropion on laboratory smoking outcomes: Meta-analysis of randomized, placebo-controlled human laboratory studies.Addiction biology · 2022Pooled it
- Possible New Symptoms of Tobacco Withdrawal III: Reduced Positive Affect-A Review and Meta-analysis.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2021Pooled it
- Cigarette smoking and depression comorbidity: systematic review and proposed theoretical model.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2017Pooled it
- Nicotine receptor partial agonists for smoking cessation.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- Neurobiological impact of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists: an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis of pharmacologic neuroimaging studies.Biological psychiatry · 2015Pooled it
- Neural bases of pharmacological treatment of nicotine dependence - insights from functional brain imaging: a systematic review.CNS drugs · 2013Pooled it
- Sex-Specific Mediation of Pre-Quit Smoking Reduction: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial Extending Varenicline Preloading.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2025Trial
- Evaluating mediators of the effect of varenicline preloading on smoking abstinence in a randomized controlled trial.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2025Trial
- Characterizing reward and relief/habit drinking profiles in a study of naltrexone, varenicline, and placebo.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2024Trial
- Efficacy and safety of combination behavioral activation for smoking cessation and varenicline for treating tobacco dependence among individuals with current or past major depressive disorder: A 2 × 2 factorial, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2023Trial
- Effect of progesterone administration in male and female smokers on nicotine withdrawal and neural response to smoking cues: role of progesterone conversion to allopregnanolone.Biology of sex differences · 2022Trial
- Sleep quality and health among pregnant smokers.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2022Trial
- Lower self-efficacy and greater depressive symptoms predict greater failure to recover from a single lapse cigarette.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2020Trial
- The Relationship of Varenicline Agonism of α4β2 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors and Nicotine-Induced Dopamine Release in Nicotine-Dependent Humans.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2020Trial
- A randomized controlled trial of 24 weeks of varenicline for tobacco use among cancer patients: Efficacy, safety, and adherence.Psycho-oncology · 2019Trial
- Effects of Varenicline, Depressive Symptoms, and Region of Enrollment on Smoking Cessation in Depressed Smokers.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2019Trial
- Phase IIb Trial of an α7 Nicotinic Receptor Partial Agonist With and Without Nicotine Patch for Withdrawal-Associated Cognitive Deficits and Tobacco Abstinence.Journal of clinical psychopharmacology · 2018Trial
- Effect of Varenicline Combined With Medical Management on Alcohol Use Disorder With Comorbid Cigarette Smoking: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA psychiatry · 2018Trial
- Effects of varenicline on cognitive performance in heavy drinkers: Dose-response effects and associations with drinking outcomes.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2018Trial
76 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundNeuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are a key target in medication development for various neuropsychiatric disorders, including nicotine dependence. Varenicline, a partial agonist at the alpha4beta2 nAChRs, is a new, efficacious medication for nicotine dependence. Its effects on the affective and cognitive dimensions of nicotine withdrawal have yet to be well characterized.
methodsSixty-seven treatment-seeking smokers were administered varenicline (x 21 days) and placebo (x 21 days) in a double-blind within-subject crossover design. Following medication run-up (Days 1-10), there was a 3-day mandatory smoking abstinence phase (Days 11-13) during which subjective symptoms and cognitive performance were assessed. Participants were reexposed to a scheduled smoking lapse (Day 14) and followed for days to lapse (Days 15-21) in each medication period.
resultsIn the varenicline period, compared with placebo, withdrawal symptoms (p = .04), smoking urges (p < .001), and negative affect (p = .01) during manditory abstinence were significantly lower, and levels of positive affect (p = .046), sustained attention (p = .018), and working memory (p = .001) were significantly greater. Varenicline also significantly reduced subjective rewarding effects of the scheduled smoking lapse (e.g., satisfaction, relief, liking; p = .003). Medication effects on days to lapse following the scheduled smoking lapse were dependent on treatment order (p = .001); among participants who received placebo in the first period, varenicline increased days of abstinence in the follow-up period.
conclusionsThese data identify novel affective and cognitive effects of varenicline and may have implications for medication development for other neuropsychiatric conditions.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.