Olfactory Aversive Conditioning during Sleep Reduces Cigarette-Smoking Behavior

Abstract

Recent findings suggest that novel associations can be learned during sleep. However, whether associative learning during sleep can alter later waking behavior and whether such behavioral changes last for minutes, hours, or days remain unknown. We tested the hypothesis that olfactory aversive conditioning during sleep will alter cigarette-smoking behavior during ensuing wakefulness. A total of 66 human subjects wishing to quit smoking participated in the study (23 females; mean age, 28.7 Ϯ 5.2 years). Subjects completed a daily smoking diary detailing the number of cigarettes smoked during 7 d before and following a 1 d or night protocol of conditioning between cigarette odor and profoundly unpleasant odors. We observed significant reductions in the number of cigarettes smoked following olfactory aversive conditioning during stage 2 and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep but not following aversive conditioning during wakefulness (p Ͻ 0.05). Moreover, the reduction in smoking following aversive conditioning during stage 2 (34.4 Ϯ 30.1%) was greater and longer lasting compared with the reduction following aversive conditioning during REM (11.9 Ϯ 19.2%, p Ͻ 0.05). Finally, the reduction in smoking following aversive conditioning during sleep was significantly greater than in two separate control sleep experiments that tested aversive odors alone and the effects of cigarette odors and aversive odors without pairing. To conclude, a single night of olfactory aversive conditioning during sleep significantly reduced cigarette-smoking behavior in a sleep stage-dependent manner, and this effect persisted for several days.

Napping: A public health issue. From epidemiological to laboratory studies

“…Nevertheless, a recent study showed that sleep-learning could influence behaviour where similar procedures in wakefulness failed. 159 In this study, cigarette-smoking habits were reduced after the pairing of tobacco odour with an aversive odour during sleep but not with similar conditioning in wakefulness.…”

“…4,159,160 The public health consequences of sleep-related accidents are severe, with an estimated 30% of fatal motor vehicle accidents partially attributed to sleepiness at the wheel on highways and a lower but significant risk on other roadways. [161][162][163] Because napping is a recognized means of fighting sleepiness, and sleepiness at the wheel is one of the most potentially dangerous situations in daily life, it is easy to understand why napping has been one of the main expert recommendations to prevent sleepiness at the wheel.…”

Unlearning implicit social biases during sleep

“…Although IAT measures are imperfect and may sometimes reflect knowledge of cultural stereotypes rather than implicit bias per se (29), prior research has demonstrated consequences for social behavior such that low implicit bias as measured with the IAT may indeed be linked with egalitarianism (6, 7). Given that training to reduce implicit bias can be conceptualized as a type of habit learning (30), perhaps novel sleep manipulations could be adapted to aid people in changing various unwanted or maladaptive habits, such as smoking, unhealthy eating, catastrophizing, or selfishness (31). …”

Circuitry of self-control and its role in reducing addiction

“…For example, one study used evaluative conditioning to associate drinking with unpleasant experience, and found a reduction in craving and consumption [4]. In another study, smoking behavior was reduced by an association induced during sleep in subjects who wished to quit smoking [5]. A recent review of decision making indicates that behavioral changes can occur with or without conscious intention [6].…”