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Brain indices of nicotine's effects on attentional bias to smoking and emotional pictures and to task-relevant targets.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Gilbert, DG; Sugai, C; Zuo, Y; Rabinovich, NE; McClernon, FJ; Froeliger, B
Published in: Nicotine Tob Res
March 2007

Aversive and smoking-related stimuli are related to smoking urges and relapse and can be potent distractors of selective attention. It has been suggested that the beneficial effect of nicotine replacement therapy may be mediated partly by the ability of nicotine to reduce distraction by such stimuli and thereby to facilitate attention to task-relevant stimuli. The present study tested the hypothesis that nicotine reduces distraction by aversive and smoking-related stimuli as indexed by the parietal P3b brain response to a task-relevant target digit. We assessed the effect of nicotine on distraction by emotionally negative, positive, neutral, and smoking-related pictures immediately preceding target digits during a rapid visual information processing task in 16 smokers in a double-blind, counterbalanced, within-subjects design. The study included two experimental sessions. After overnight smoking deprivation (12+ hr), active nicotine patches were applied to participants during one of the sessions and placebo patches were applied during the other session. Nicotine enhanced P3b responses associated with target digits immediately subsequent to negative emotional pictures bilaterally and subsequent to smoking-related pictures only in the right hemisphere. No effects of nicotine were observed for P3bs subsequent to positive and neutral distractor pictures. Another measure of attention, contingent negative variation amplitude in anticipation of the target digits also was increased by nicotine, especially in the left hemisphere and at posterior sites. Together, these findings suggest that nicotine reduces the distraction by emotionally negative and smoking-related stimuli and promotes attention to task-related stimuli by modulating somewhat lateralized and task-specific neural networks.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Nicotine Tob Res

DOI

ISSN

1462-2203

Publication Date

March 2007

Volume

9

Issue

3

Start / End Page

351 / 363

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Visual Perception
  • Smoking Cessation
  • Smoking
  • Reinforcement, Psychology
  • Reaction Time
  • Public Health
  • Nicotine
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Ganglionic Stimulants
 

Citation

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Gilbert, D. G., Sugai, C., Zuo, Y., Rabinovich, N. E., McClernon, F. J., & Froeliger, B. (2007). Brain indices of nicotine's effects on attentional bias to smoking and emotional pictures and to task-relevant targets. Nicotine Tob Res, 9(3), 351–363. https://doi.org/10.1080/14622200701188810
Gilbert, David G., Chihiro Sugai, Yantao Zuo, Norka E. Rabinovich, F Joseph McClernon, and Brett Froeliger. “Brain indices of nicotine's effects on attentional bias to smoking and emotional pictures and to task-relevant targets.Nicotine Tob Res 9, no. 3 (March 2007): 351–63. https://doi.org/10.1080/14622200701188810.
Gilbert DG, Sugai C, Zuo Y, Rabinovich NE, McClernon FJ, Froeliger B. Brain indices of nicotine's effects on attentional bias to smoking and emotional pictures and to task-relevant targets. Nicotine Tob Res. 2007 Mar;9(3):351–63.
Gilbert, David G., et al. “Brain indices of nicotine's effects on attentional bias to smoking and emotional pictures and to task-relevant targets.Nicotine Tob Res, vol. 9, no. 3, Mar. 2007, pp. 351–63. Pubmed, doi:10.1080/14622200701188810.
Gilbert DG, Sugai C, Zuo Y, Rabinovich NE, McClernon FJ, Froeliger B. Brain indices of nicotine's effects on attentional bias to smoking and emotional pictures and to task-relevant targets. Nicotine Tob Res. 2007 Mar;9(3):351–363.
Journal cover image

Published In

Nicotine Tob Res

DOI

ISSN

1462-2203

Publication Date

March 2007

Volume

9

Issue

3

Start / End Page

351 / 363

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Visual Perception
  • Smoking Cessation
  • Smoking
  • Reinforcement, Psychology
  • Reaction Time
  • Public Health
  • Nicotine
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Ganglionic Stimulants