How vaping affects teens' brains and thinking
Official title: Health Effects of E-cigarette Use on Brain Functions and Cognitive Development among Adolescents: A US Population-Based Study
Funded at University of Nebraska Medical Center · NIH-11257343 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether using e-cigarettes (vaping) changes brain development and thinking skills in children and teenagers.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Nebraska Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Omaha, United States) |
| Project start | March 15, 2024 |
| Project end | January 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $367,730 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DA060466-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11257343 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are children and adolescents (roughly ages 9–18) who have used e-cigarettes, smoked cigarettes, or never used nicotine and who are part of the ABCD study or a similar U.S. cohort.
✕Less likely to help
Adults outside the adolescent age range or people with brain conditions unrelated to nicotine exposure are unlikely to benefit directly from this work.
What this research studies
If your child were included, researchers would look at brain scans and thinking tests that the ABCD study already collected from nearly 12,000 U.S. kids who were 9–10 at the start and were followed into their teens. They will compare children who vape, children who smoke cigarettes, and children who do not use nicotine to look for differences in brain structure and cognitive skills over time. The team will pay special attention to kids who only vape so they can separate nicotine effects from smoke exposure. The goal is to understand whether vaping during adolescence is linked to changes in brain maturation or thinking abilities.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help parents, clinicians, and regulators better protect young people by clarifying how vaping affects teen brain development.
How similar studies have gone: Animal studies show adolescent nicotine exposure can alter brain development, but human evidence specifically on vaping is limited and this analysis addresses a relatively untested question.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Omaha, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Dai, Hongying Daisy — University of Nebraska Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Dai, Hongying Daisy
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.