The discounting of losses by smokers in nicotine withdrawl

描述(由申请人提供)：行为研究发现，吸烟者比不吸烟者对奖励的暂时性折扣更多；吸烟者更倾向于立即奖励而不是延迟奖励。鉴于尼古丁戒断在维持吸烟中的重要性，急性尼古丁戒断对时间折扣的影响是有趣的。研究尼古丁戒断期间奖励的时间折扣的研究是有限的，而研究戒烟期间惩罚的时间折扣的研究完全没有。概率贴现的研究也是如此，这一概念被认为与时间贴现相关，如果不是相似的话。这个小型、自给自足的研究项目的第一个具体目标是比较和对比吸烟者在尼古丁饱足和急性戒断期间对负面结果进行时间折扣的结果概况。第二个具体目标是比较和对比吸烟者在尼古丁饱足和急性戒断期间对积极和消极结果的概率折扣的结果概况。第三个具体目标是验证具有真实奖励条件的假想奖励的时间和概率贴现程序。拟议的实验将通过对吸烟者和非吸烟者进行时间和概率折扣程序来实现这些目标，包括收益和损失。吸烟者将在尼古丁饱腹症和急性戒烟(24小时戒烟)下接受折扣程序。每组参与者中将有一半是女性，从而允许对戒断对折扣的影响进行性别分析，从而进一步深入了解尼古丁成瘾、戒断和复发方面的性别差异。这项研究的长期目标是进一步了解影响吸烟等冲动行为的变量，并促进综合治疗计划的发展。尽管近年来美国的吸烟率有所下降，但吸烟仍然是最可预防的死亡和发病原因。鉴于吸烟对公众健康的影响，重要的是扩大目前关于吸烟者在饱腹感和戒烟过程中选择负面结果的知识。这项研究可能会为影响冲动决策的变量提供新的见解，特别是对药物依赖的影响，导致新的治疗模式，补充目前使用的药物依赖的有效治疗。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Behavioral studies have found that cigarette smokers temporally discount rewards more than non-smokers; smokers are more likely to prefer immediate over delayed rewards. Given the importance of nicotine withdrawal in the maintenance of cigarette smoking, the effect of acute nicotine withdrawal on temporal discounting is of interest. Studies examining temporal discounting of rewards during nicotine withdrawal are limited, while studies examining temporal discounting of punishments during withdrawal are completely absent. The same is true for studies of probability discounting, a construct thought to be related, if not similar, to temporal discounting. The first specific aim of this small, self-contained research project is to compare and contrast the profile of results in the temporal discounting of negative outcomes in smokers during nicotine satiation and acute withdrawal. The second specific aim is to compare and contrast the profile of results in the probability discounting of positive and negative outcomes in smokers during nicotine satiation and acute withdrawal. The third specific aim is to validate temporal and probability discounting procedures for hypothetical rewards with real rewards conditions. The proposed experiment will fulfill these aims with temporal- and probability-discounting procedures with smokers and non-smokers for both gains and losses. Smokers will undergo the discounting procedures under both nicotine satiation and acute withdrawal (24-hour cigarette abstinence). Half of the participants in each group will be female, allowing for gender analyses of withdrawal effects on discounting, providing additional insight into gender differences in nicotine addiction, abstinence, and relapse. The long-term objective of this line of research is to further knowledge about the variables that influence impulsive behavior such as cigarette smoking, and to facilitate the development of comprehensive treatment programs. Though the rate of smoking has decreased in the United States in recent years, cigarette smoking continues to be the most preventable cause of mortality and morbidity. Given the public health implications of cigarette smoking, it is important to expand current knowledge about choice of negative outcomes by cigarette smokers in satiation and withdrawal. This research may provide new insights into the variables that affect impulsive decision-making in general and drug dependence in particular, leading to new modules of treatment that supplement effective treatments for drug dependence in use today.