Genetic and personality trait moderators of tobacco abstinence-symptom trajectories were assessed in a highly controlled study. Based on evidence suggesting their importance in stress reactivity and smoking, moderators studied were serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) and dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) polymorphisms, and negative affect-related personality traits. Smokers were randomly assigned to quit smoking with nicotine or placebo patches. Financial incentives resulted in 80% verified abstinence across the 44-day study. Individuals with one or two short alleles of 5-HTTLPR (S carriers) experienced larger increases in negative affect (NA) symptoms than those without a short allele. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) alleviated anxiety only in S carriers. NRT reduced NA to a greater extent in DRD2 A1 carriers than in A2A2 individuals during the first two weeks of treatment (when on the 21 mg patch); however, A1 carriers experienced a renewal of NA symptoms when switched to the 7mg patch and when off patch, while A2A2 individuals continued to benefit from NRT. The results suggest that the effects of genotype and treatment may vary across different durations of abstinence, treatment doses, and genotypes.Differences in genetic makeup are a potentially important, yet little studied factor that may help explain individual differences in negative affect (NA)-related tobacco abstinence symptoms (TAS) (reviewed by Pergadia, Heath, Martin, & Madden, 2006). The large individual differences in the severity and time course of NA-related TAS (Piasecki, Jorenby, Smith, Fiore, & Baker, 2003a, 2003b, 2003c appear to be important because relapse to smoking occurs more often in those experiencing high levels of NA (Shiffman & Waters, 2004). However, the factors that predict severity and nature of NA-related TAS have only been partially characterized. While NA-related personality traits (NATs) and history of major NArelated psychiatric disorder have been found to predict both severity of NA during abstinence and relapse (Covey, Glassman, & Stetner, 1990;Gilbert et al., 2002; Gilbert, Crauthers, Mooney, McClernon, & Jensen, 1999;Zvolensky, Lejuez, Kahler, Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to David G. Gilbert, Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University, Mailcode 6502, Carbondale, Illinois, 62901-6502. Electronic mail may be sent to dgilbert@siu.edu.
Publisher's Disclaimer:The following manuscript is the final accepted manuscript. It has not been subjected to the final copyediting, fact-checking, and proofreading required for formal publication. It is not the definitive, publisher-authenticated version. The American Psychological Association and its Council of Editors disclaim any responsibility or liabilities for errors or omissions of this manuscript version, any version derived from this manuscript by NIH, or other third parties. The published version is available at www.apa.org/journals/abn. & Brown, 2004), these factors and degree of nicotine dependence (Gilbert et al., 2002;Pi...