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(从未使用者和曾经使用者)的因素，然后确定所涉及的因素是否与药物使用有因果关系。如果它们是因果相关的，这些信息可能被用来识别高危人群，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。冲动可能是这些因素之一。越来越多的文献表明，吸毒者比不吸毒者更容易冲动，冲动的定义各不相同，指的是推迟满足或抑制行为的能力降低，寻求风险和感觉的能力增强，行动时没有适当权衡后果等。然而，冲动和吸毒之间的因果关系方向尚不清楚，这种关系背后的机制也不清楚。高水平的冲动可能会导致人们尝试吸烟，然后继续使用。或者，尼古丁的行为可能会急剧或长期地增加冲动的决策。事实上，这两个过程都可能参与其中--导致吸烟的冲动增强，然后尼古丁剂量增加冲动决策，进而降低成功戒烟的可能性。目前的提案概述了5个实验，这些实验将研究冲动与药物使用的几个不同方面之间的关系，使用香烟吸烟(尼古丁)作为正在调查的药物使用的模型。前3项研究考察了冲动的基线测量与戒烟治疗结果之间的关系(研究1)、短期戒烟和戒烟缓解的主观厌恶(研究2)以及吸烟强度(研究3)。这些研究将使我们更好地理解一般行为特征(也就是个性)可以影响药物的使用方式，以及这些特征如何影响药物的继续使用。最后两项研究考察了吸烟者和不吸烟者体内尼古丁戒断(研究4)和全身尼古丁增加(研究5)如何影响通过实验室任务评估冲动决策的状态测量。希望这些研究能够更好地了解影响药物使用的因素以及药物使用如何影响决策。

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.