Background
Evidence suggests that the transition from experimental to regular smoking is facilitated
by the influence of tobacco on affective and attentional mechanisms. The objective
of this study was to examine affective and attentional responses in young adult smokers
using fear-potentiated startle and prepulse inhibition.
Methods
Participants were 56 college nonsmokers, nonabstinent smokers, and overnight-abstinent
smokers. The fear-potentiated startle test examined phasic responses to imminent threat
cues and more sustained responses to unpredictable aversive events. Prepulse inhibition
investigated responses to attended and ignored prepulse stimuli.
Results
Abstinent and nonabstinent smokers showed increased sustained potentiation of startle
to contextual cues, compared to controls. Abstinent smokers showed increased fear-potentiated
startle to threat cues, compared to nonsmokers. PPI did not discriminate between abstinent
or nonabstinent smokers and controls.
Conclusions
These findings suggest that negative affectivity or anxiety is associated with smoking,
particularly during short withdrawal. Potentiated startle may provide a valuable tool
in understanding the biologic mechanisms underlying nicotine withdrawal and inform
cessation and prevention efforts.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 02, 2007
Accepted:
December 19,
2006
Received in revised form:
December 7,
2006
Received:
August 22,
2006
Identification
Copyright
© 2007 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
