Effects of repeated days of smoking cue exposure on urge to smoke and physiological reactivity

Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of repeated days of laboratory-based smoking cue exposure on subjective and physiologic cue reactivity. Twenty non-treatment seeking moderate/heavy smokers completed three laboratory sessions approximately 7 days apart, each following a 10-hour nicotine deprivation period. Cue reactivity procedures consisted of a relaxation trial followed by two trials of in vivo cue exposure. Dependent measures included urge to smoke, a withdrawal questionnaire, mean arterial pressure (MAP), and heart rate (HR). A Condition (relaxation vs. cue exposure) by Day (1, 2, or 3) analysis of variance revealed a significant main effect of Condition (greater urge to smoke after cue exposure) but no significant main or interaction effect for Day. Similarly, MAP and HR change scores following cue exposure did not differ across test days. Cue-elicited changes in withdrawal symptoms were only observed on Day 1, but not when the interday interval was covaried. Results suggest that laboratory-based cue-elicited changes in urge to smoke, MAP, and HR are stable over three separate days.

Cue-induced craving and physiological reactions in recently and long-abstinent heroin-dependent patients

“…To our best knowledge, this is the first study to compare cue-induced craving and physiological reactions between recently and long-abstinent heroin-dependent individuals. Our findings were consistent with several related studies in smokers, which found that elevated craving and higher physiological reactions can be reliably elicited over repeated cue reactivity sessions (LaRowe, Saladin, Carpenter, & Upadhyaya, 2007; Miranda, Rohsenow, Monti, Tidey, & Ray, 2008). Furthermore, one study found cue-induced craving increases with duration of abstinence in smokers (Bedi G, 2011).…”

Coping with Cigarette Cravings: Comparison of Suppression Versus Mindfulness-Based Strategies

“…However, participants were not permitted to light the cigarette and were asked to instead imagine that the cigarette had been lit. Although many studies involving in vivo cue exposure to cigarettes require participants to actually light the cigarette (e.g., Havermans et al 2003;Miranda et al 2008), the methodology for the present study was altered to avoid cue reactivity complications that may arise due to the release of nicotine from cigarette smoke. Specifically, we thought that the release of nicotine from a lit cigarette might result in less craving than an unlit cigarette that does not allow for the release of nicotine.…”

The relevance and treatment of cue-induced cravings in tobacco dependence

“…In one of the most widely used paradigms, smokers are given access to their own brand of cigarettes and directed to handle and light a cigarette without smoking it (Sayette, Martin, Wertz, Shiffman, & Perrott, 2001). This experimental paradigm has been shown to reliably evoke cue-induced cravings (Carter & Tiffany, 1999;Miranda, Rohsenow, Monti, Tidey, & Ray, 2008;Sayette & Parrott, 1999;Sayette et al, 2001). However, the observed absolute level of craving can sometimes be modest ) and can be influenced by whether a subject expects to smoke following exposure (Dols, van den, Kindt, & Willems, 2002;Sayette et al, 2003;Wilson, Sayette, Delgado, & Fiez, 2005).…”