Automatic Attention to Smoking Cues: Neural Correlates

描述(由申请人提供)：线索反应范式已被用于研究涉及药物滥用的联想和注意机制。例如，研究发现，暴露在与吸烟有关的线索中(例如，看着某人吸烟)会引起自我报告的渴望和自主神经系统的唤醒(例如，心率和皮肤电导)。这项拟议的研究试图更好地了解依赖吸烟者通过吸烟线索捕捉注意力的大脑动力学。事件相关脑电位(ERP)的检查是为了研究最初接触图片线索时的大脑。很少有吸烟线索反应性的研究利用了事件相关电位方法，现有的研究没有涉及自动和控制加工，也没有使用脑源定位技术。这项拟议的研究将通过比较不经常出现的吸烟图片、中性图片、积极情绪图片和负面情绪图片的初始呈现情况下的ERP成分幅度来解决这些问题。在执行吸烟线索任务时，参与者将从事与线索类型无关的要求严格的注意任务，从而减少对线索加工的自愿注意效应。我们建议研究吸烟者、曾经吸烟者和不吸烟者(对照组)对吸烟的自动注意和中性线索的神经相关性。假设吸烟者对吸烟线索的反应比中性线索有更大的事件相关电位成分(N1、P2和N2)，并且这种影响不会出现在戒烟者和不吸烟者身上。它还假设，线索反应性的这些事件相关电位差异将与当前吸烟行为和尼古丁依赖的指数相关。最后，我们假设大脑中与注意力相关的区域(如前扣带回皮质和岛叶皮质)将是吸烟线索诱发的ERP波形分量的来源。公共卫生相关性：这项研究将有助于更好地理解吸烟者对吸烟线索做出反应的自动注意处理。关于吸烟相关线索最初如何在吸烟者中激活神经过程的知识可能会为针对吸烟者独特特征的治疗计划的发展提供信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cue reactivity paradigms have been used to study associative and attentional mechanisms involved in drug abuse. For instance, exposure to smoking-related cues (e.g., watching someone smoke a cigarette) has been found to evoke self-reported craving and autonomic nervous system arousal (e.g., heart-rate and skin conductance). The proposed research seeks to better understand brain dynamics involving the capture of attention by smoking cues in dependent smokers. The examination of event-related brain potentials (ERP) is for studying the brain during initial exposure to picture cues. Very little smoking cue reactivity research has utilized ERP methodology, and existing studies have not addressed automatic versus controlled processing, nor have they used brain source localization techniques. The proposed study will address these issues by comparing ERP component amplitudes in response to the initial presentation of infrequently presented smoking, neutral, positive affect, and negative affect pictures. While performing this smoking cue task, participants will be engaged in a demanding attention task that is not relevant to cue type, thereby reducing voluntary attention effects on cue processing. We propose to study neural correlates of automatic attention to smoking and neutral cues among smokers, former smokers, and nonsmokers (controls). It is hypothesized that smokers will have greater ERP component (N1, P2, and N2) amplitudes in response to smoking cues relative to neutral cues, and that this effect will not be present in former smokers and nonsmokers. It is also hypothesized that these ERP differences in cue reactivity will be associated with indices of current smoking behavior and nicotine dependence. Finally, we hypothesize that attention-related areas of the brain (e.g., anterior cingulate cortex and insular cortex) will be sources for smoking cue elicited components of the ERP waveform. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This study will contribute to greater understanding of automatic attentional processing in response to smoking cues among smokers. Knowledge obtained about how smoking-related cues initially activate neural processes among smokers may inform the development of treatment programs that target the unique characteristics of individual smokers.