Alcohol expectancies and reactivity to alcohol-related and affective cues.

Recent conceptualizations of alcohol expectancies relate cognitive schemas to their neurobiological underpinnings; cue reactivity paradigms lend themselves well to testing this broadened conceptual framework. In the present study, we examined the relationship between self-reported alcohol expectancies and responses to alcohol-related and affective picture cues among fifty-five young adults. In addition to traditional subjective and psychophysiological indices of cue reactivity, the startle eyeblink reflex was obtained during picture cue presentations to address both attention-arousal (early probes) and affective-motivational (late probes) aspects of cue processing. Analyses indicated that participants reporting greater positive, arousing, and social alcohol expectancies rated alcohol cues as more pleasant, arousing, and craving-inducing. In addition, participants displayed inhibited startle reactivity to late alcohol cue probes, indicative of an appetitive reaction. Finally, startle responding to early probes indicated that participants with greater alcohol expectancies displayed blunted attention to negative affect cues. Findings are discussed in terms of the utility of the startle reflex and cue reactivity paradigms for clarifying the relationship between alcohol expectancies and motivated attention to salient cues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The human startle reflex and alcohol cue reactivity: Effects of early versus late abstinence.

This study investigated the human eyeblink startle reflex as a measure of alcohol cue reactivity. Alcohol-dependent participants early (n?=?36) and late (n?=?34) in abstinence received presentations of alcohol and water cues. Consistent with previous research, greater salivation and higher ratings of urge to drink occurred in response to the alcohol cues. Differential salivary and urge responding to alcohol versus water cues did not vary as a function of abstinence duration. Of special interest was the finding that startle response magnitudes were relatively elevated to alcohol cues, but only in individuals early in abstinence. Affective ratings of alcohol cues suggested that alcohol cues were perceived as aversive. Methodological and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reactivity to in vivo smoking cues in older adolescent cigarette smokers.

Most smokers initiate smoking in adolescence, and craving for cigarettes may play an important role in maintenance of smoking behavior and relapse to smoking during a quit attempt. Although a significant body of literature explores cue-reactivity in adult smokers, little has been published on cue-reactivity among adolescent smokers. In a previously published work, we found that videotaped smoking cues may not be robust in eliciting craving among adolescent smokers. Hence, in this preliminary study, we examined reactivity to in vivo smoking cues among adolescent smokers (N = 11, average age = 18.1 years, range = 15-19 years, predominantly female). Participants were presented with in vivo smoking and neutral cues (counterbalanced). We recorded subjective craving and real-time heart rate in response to each type of cue. Adolescent smokers had a significantly greater "desire" to smoke (p < .05) in response to smoking cues vs. both baseline and neutral cues. Participants had faster heart rates after the smoking cues during the epochs of 21-30 s and 31-40 s (p values<.05) as compared with baseline, and mean heart rate was higher during the smoking cues relative to neutral cues among participants who received the smoking cues first (p < .05). Results of this preliminary study further demonstrate the feasibility of conducting cue-reactivity studies with adolescent cigarette smokers. Findings from this study suggest that adolescent smokers may show patterns of responding to smoking cues similar to those of adult smokers. Implications for future laboratory studies with adolescent smokers are discussed.     

Induction of smoking urge through imaginal and in vivo procedures: Physiological and self-report manifestations.

This experiment assessed reactivity to imaginal and in vivo smoking and control cues. One hundred current smokers were assessed during 2 sessions separated by a 6-hr interval, and half of the participants were abstinent from smoking over this interval. Verbal and physiological reactivity measures were selected based on their relevance for several models of urge. Results indicated that imaginal and in vivo smoking cues were equally effective at eliciting high levels of self-reported urges. Smoking deprivation led to a general enhancement in urge report, rather than a specific increase to smoking cues. Physiological responding differed somewhat as a function of urge induction method, although autonomic responses to smoking cues were uniformly consistent with the direct effects of nicotine. There was no relationship between verbal and physiological urge indices. Implications of the findings for several contemporary models of drug urges are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attentional bias for smoking and affective stimuli: A Stroop task study.

Prior research has demonstrated attentional biases to smoking-related cues among smokers, and several lines of research suggest strong ties between smoking and negative affect. The authors tested attentional biases to both smoking and affective cues in 27 smokers using an emotional Stroop paradigm, and examined the relationship between these forms of attentional bias. Findings indicated significant attentional biases to smoking-related and negative-affect words, but not positive-affect words. In addition, there was a significant correlation between the degree of attentional bias to smoking and negative-affect words. These data provide evidence of a close association between smoking-related and affective cue processing from a cognitive perspective. Potential theoretical and clinical implications for these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential urge and salivary responsivity to alcohol cues in alcohol-dependent patients: A comparison of traditional and stringent classification approaches.

Seventy alcohol-dependent individuals were presented with alcohol and water cues on separate trials while salivary responding and self-reported urge for alcohol were measured. Researchers used 2 distinct classification approaches to classify participants as either responders or nonresponders on urge and salivation. Through a traditional classification approach, both urge and salivary responder groups reported higher pleasantness ratings in response to the alcohol cues than nonresponders, yet did not differ on measures of alcohol dependence or withdrawal. Through a more stringent classification approach, salivation responders reported fewer days since their last drink of alcohol and higher pleasantness ratings in response to the alcohol cues than the salivation nonresponder group. The stringently classified urge responders reported higher pleasantness ratings in response to the alcohol cues and more psychiatric distress than the urge nonresponder group. The stringently classified responder groups did not report more alcohol dependence or withdrawal symptoms. There was modest agreement between self-reported urge for alcohol and the physiological measure of salivation. Theoretical and treatment implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attentional Bias and Drinking to Cope With Social Anxiety.

This study investigated the sensitivity of the emotional Stroop test for identifying individuals who reported drinking to cope with social fears. Community volunteers completed a modified Stroop task during which social threat, alcohol-related, and control words were presented. High scores on drinking-to-cope measures were hypothesized to be associated with longer response latencies to both social threat and alcohol-related words. Consistent with previous studies, alcohol dependence was correlated with latencies for alcohol-related words, and level of social anxiety was correlated with response latency to social threat words. As expected, drinking-to-cope measures predicted response latency to alcohol-related and social threat words. These results suggest that the emotional Stroop test is useful in studying the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol consumption. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Research on nicotine and tobacco: a decade of progress.

The 10th annual meeting of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) was held February 19-21, 2004, in Scottsdale, Arizona. With nearly 850 registered attendees, this year's meeting was the largest to date. The 3-day scientific program included William Corrigall as the keynote speaker, three theme lecturers, one award address, 10 symposia, nine oral paper sessions, and four poster sessions that contained over 100 presentations per session. The meeting content emphasized three major areas of SRNT's scientific focus: Preclinical, clinical, and epidemiology/public health research in the nicotine and tobacco field. The meeting provided many opportunities to interact with and learn from colleagues engaged in broad topics within nicotine and tobacco research. Additional events included two preconference meetings, an opening reception, several evening workshops, scientific and travel awards, and a members' meeting. The scientific excellence and innovation presented at this year's meeting represented SRNT's growth and continued contributions to advancing our understanding of nicotine addiction and tobacco use.     

A family smoking index to capture genetic influence in smoking: rationale and two validation studies.

Despite a growing appreciation that genetic factors may impart vulnerability toward smoking behavior, only a modest consensus has been created about the specific genetic mechanisms that may underlie various aspects of smoking. A core feature of genetic contribution toward any complex human behavior is familial resemblance. Most previous attempts to index familial smoking have classified individuals into discrete categories, based on the number of smokers in a family. We discuss the development of a continuous measure of familial smoking, the Family Smoking Index (FSI), which is based on the proportion of smokers in first- and second-degree family members and provides a more precise weighting according to genetic proximity. We present the psychometric characteristics of the FSI as well as initial validation data from two studies. We also describe current and future directions for continued FSI validation and application.