Attentional bias to smoking and other motivationally relevant cues is affected by nicotine exposure and dose expectancy

We examined the early posterior negativity (EPN) and late positive potential (LPP) components of the event-related potentials (ERPs) to the distracters, reaction time (RT) to the target digits, and ratings of the study cigarettes. The EPN was sensitive to both given and instructed nicotine dose, while the instructed dose moderated the impact of given dose for the LPP. The RT metrics were sensitive to given but not to instructed dose. The effects of given dose on ratings following cigarette smoking (e.g. enjoyment) were moderated by the instructed dose. The ERP findings suggest that the anticipated effects of nicotine improve attention much like receiving actual nicotine.

Source: Journal of Psychopharmacology - June 15, 2016 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Robinson, J. D., Versace, F., Engelmann, J. M., Cui, Y., Gilbert, D. G., Waters, A. J., Gritz, E. R., Cinciripini, P. M. Tags: Original Papers Source Type: research