The Effects of Smoking and Expectancy on ERP Measures of Attentional Bias

描述(由申请者提供)：本建议的重点是为申请者提供技能、经验和指导，使其成为一名独立研究人员，重点了解尼古丁依赖的神经行为决定因素。这项建议中概述的培训计划将使我有机会熟练使用事件相关电位(ERP)脑电(EEC)技术来研究与尼古丁依赖有关的注意力和情绪机制，从而扩大我的技能。这项工作将在德克萨斯大学安德森癌症中心进行，在那里我将得到尼古丁依赖领域杰出科学家的指导。这个多学科团队将通过提供神经行为、事件相关电位、注意力偏差和吸烟的性别差异等领域的具体专业知识，监督我的研究和培训经验。研究计划的重点是更好地了解吸烟者的注意偏差，以便扩大我们对药物和情感线索如何有助于维持对滥用药物的神经敏感化的了解。这项拟议的研究将首次使用受试者内平衡的安慰剂设计来评估吸烟者的注意偏差，允许将尼古丁的影响与吸烟线索对吸烟和情感线索的ERP注意反应的影响分开。这项建议的具体目的是：(A)区分尼古丁的药理作用与已知的吸烟和情感线索对注意力分散的影响；(B)确定吸烟和情感线索对注意力分散是否存在性别差异；(C)确定对即将使用烟草的预期是否会增加吸烟和情感线索对注意力的分散；以及(D)评估吸烟和情感线索分散注意力的事件相关电位测量是否与尼古丁依赖、渴望和影响的传统自我报告测量相关联。 与公共健康相关：吸烟依赖被认为是由于大脑对环境中提醒吸烟依赖者的线索的注意偏差所致。这项研究将使用事件相关电位(ERP)脑电技术来调查这些注意偏差和激发它们的环境。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The focus of this proposal is to provide the applicant with the skills, experience, and mentoring to become an independent researcher with a focus on understanding the neurobehavioral determinants of nicotine dependence. The training plan outlined in this proposal will allow me to expand my skills by providing an opportunity to become proficient in the use of event-related potential (ERP) electroencephalography (EEC) techniques to study attentional and emotional mechanisms related to nicotine dependence. This work will be conducted at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, where I will be mentored by distinguished scientists in the field of nicotine dependence. This multidisciplinary team will provide oversight of my research and training experiences by providing specific expertise in the areas of neurobehavior, ERP, attentional biases, and gender differences of smoking. The focus of the Research Plan is to gain a greater understanding of the attentional biases of smokers in order to expand our knowledge of how drug and affective cues help to maintain neural sensitization to drugs of abuse. The proposed study would be the first to evaluate the attentional bias of smokers using a within-subjects balanced placebo design, allowing for the separation of the effects of nicotine from the effects of smoking cues on ERP attentional response to smoking and affective cues. The specific aims of this proposal are (a) to distinguish the effects of nicotine's pharmacological properties from those resulting from learned associations on the attentional distraction by smoking and affective cues in dependent smokers, (b) to determine whether gender differences exist in the attentional distraction by smoking and affective cues, (c) to determine whether the expectation of imminent tobacco use increases the attentional distraction by smoking and affective cues, and (d) to assess whether ERP measures of attentional distraction by smoking and affective cues correlate with traditional self-reported measures of nicotine dependence, craving, and affect. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Smoking dependence is thought to be maintained by the brain's attentional bias towards cues in the environment that remind the dependent invidual of smoking. This study will use event-related potential (ERP) EEG technology to investigate these attentional biases and circumstances that provoke them.