Interactions between impulsivity and cigarette smoking

描述（由申请人提供）：减少药物使用和滥用的一种方法是确定区分当前使用者和非使用者（从不使用者和曾经使用者）的因素，然后确定所讨论的因素是否与药物使用有因果关系。如果它们之间存在因果关系，这些信息可以用于识别高危人群，开发有针对性的治疗或干预措施，并了解药物暴露如何影响大脑功能。冲动可能是其中一个因素。越来越多的文献表明，吸毒者比非吸毒者更冲动，冲动被各种各样地定义为延迟满足或抑制行为的能力降低，追求风险和刺激的能力增强，不适当权衡后果的行为等。然而，冲动和吸毒之间的因果关系方向尚不清楚，这种关系的机制尚不清楚。高度冲动可能会导致人们尝试吸烟，然后继续使用。另外，尼古丁的作用可能会急性或慢性地增加冲动决策。事实上，这两个过程都可能涉及到——冲动的增强促成了吸烟的开始，然后尼古丁的剂量增加了冲动的决策，这反过来又降低了成功戒烟的可能性。目前的提案概述了5个实验，这些实验将解决冲动与吸毒的几个不同方面之间的关系，并将吸烟（尼古丁）作为正在调查的吸毒模型。前3项研究考察了冲动性基线测量与戒烟治疗结果（研究1）、短期戒断和戒断缓解的主观厌恶（研究2）以及吸烟强度（研究3）之间的关系。这些研究将有助于更好地理解一般的行为特征（又名人格）如何影响药物的使用，以及这些特征如何影响药物的持续使用。最后2项研究考察了冲动性的状态测量，使用实验室任务来评估冲动性决策，戒烟（研究4）和吸烟者和非吸烟者全身尼古丁的增加（研究5）是如何影响的。希望这些研究将使人们更好地了解影响吸毒的因素以及吸毒如何影响决策。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): One approach to reducing drug use and abuse is to identify factors that differentiate current users from nonusers (never-users and ex-users) and then to determine whether the factors in question are causally associated with the drug use. If they are causally related, this information may be used to identify at-risk populations, to develop targeted treatments or interventions and to understand how drug exposure impacts brain function. Impulsivity may be one of those factors. A growing body of literature indicates that drug users are more impulsive than nonusers, where impulsivity has been defined variously as a reduced ability to delay gratification or to inhibit behavior, heightened risk- and sensation-seeking, acting without weighing the consequences appropriately, etc. However, the direction of causality between impulsivity and drug use is unclear, and the mechanisms underlying this relationship are unknown. High levels of impulsivity might cause people to experiment with cigarettes, and then continue to use. Alternatively, the actions of nicotine might acutely or chronically increase impulsive decision-making. Indeed it is possible that both processes may be involved - heightened impulsivity precipitating smoking initiation, then doses of nicotine increasing impulsive decision-making, which in turn decreases the likelihood of successful quitting. The current proposal outlines 5 experiments that will address the relationship between impulsivity and several different aspects of drug use using cigarette smoking (nicotine) as the model of drug use under investigation. The first 3 studies examine the relationship between baseline measures of impulsivity and smoking cessation treatment outcomes (Study 1), the subjective aversiveness of short-term withdrawal and relief from withdrawal (Study 2), and the intensity of cigarette smoking (Study 3). These studies will result in a better understanding of how general behavioral traits (a.k.a. personality) can impact how drugs are used and how those traits influence their continued use. The final 2 studies examine how state measures of impulsivity, assessed using laboratory tasks to assess impulsive decision-making, are affected by abstinence from nicotine (Study 4) and increases in systemic nicotine in smokers and nonsmokers (Study 5). It is hoped that these studies will result in a better understanding of the factors impacting drug use and how drug use can impact decision-making.