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

描述（由申请人提供）：本提案的重点是为申请人提供技能、经验和指导，使其成为一名独立研究人员，重点是了解尼古丁依赖的神经行为决定因素。本提案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）脑电图（EEC）技术来研究与尼古丁依赖相关的注意力和情绪机制，从而扩展我的技能。这项工作将在德克萨斯大学M。D.安德森癌症中心，在那里我将接受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，ERP，注意力偏差和吸烟性别差异等领域的特定专业知识来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力偏差，以扩大我们对药物和情感线索如何帮助维持对滥用药物的神经敏感性的了解。这项拟议的研究将是第一个使用受试者内平衡安慰剂设计评估吸烟者注意力偏差的研究，允许将尼古丁的影响与吸烟线索对吸烟和情感线索的ERP注意力反应的影响分开。该建议的具体目的是：（a）区分尼古丁的药理学特性对吸烟和情感线索引起的依赖性吸烟者注意力分散的影响，（B）确定吸烟和情感线索引起的注意力分散是否存在性别差异，（c）确定即将吸烟的预期是否会增加吸烟和情感线索引起的注意力分散，以及（d）评估吸烟和情感线索引起的注意力分散的ERP测量值是否与尼古丁依赖、渴望和情感的传统自我报告测量值相关。 公共卫生相关性：吸烟依赖性被认为是由大脑对环境中提醒依赖者吸烟的线索的注意偏向维持的。本研究将使用事件相关电位（ERP）脑电技术来研究这些注意偏差和引起它们的环境。

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.