Smoking abstinence and depressive symptoms modulate the executive control system during emotional information processing

Abstract

Background Smoking abstinence disrupts affective and cognitive processes. In this study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate the effects of smoking abstinence on emotional information processing (EIP). Methods Smokers (n=17) and nonsmokers (n=18) underwent fMRI while performing an emotional distractor oddball task in which rare targets were presented following negative and neutral task-irrelevant distractors. Smokers completed two sessions: once following 24-hr abstinence and once while satiated. The abstinent versus satiated states were compared by evaluating responses to distractor images and to targets following each distractor valence within frontal executive and limbic brain regions. Regression analyses were done to investigate whether self-reported negative affect influences brain response to images and targets. Exploratory regression analyses examined relations between baseline depressive symptoms and smoking state on brain function. Results Smoking state affected response to target detection in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). During satiety, activation was greater in response to targets following negative versus neutral distractors; following abstinence, the reverse was observed. Withdrawal-related negative affect was associated with right insula activation to negative images. Finally, depression symptoms were associated with abstinence-induced hypoactive response to negative emotional distractors and task-relevant targets following negative distractors in frontal brain regions. Conclusions Neural processes related to novelty detection/attention in the right IFG may be disrupted by smoking abstinence and negative stimuli. Reactivity to emotional stimuli and the interfering effects on cognition are moderated by the magnitude of smoking state-dependent negative affect and baseline depressive symptoms.

Depressive symptoms and responses to cigarette pack warning labels among Mexican smokers.

“…For example, nonsmokers with depressive symptoms have stronger neural responses to negative emotional information than those without DS (Felder et al, 2012). Among smokers, nicotine withdrawal promotes greater negative emotional interference on cognition (Froeliger et al, 2012; Gilbert et al, 2007)—the effects of which become worse with increasing levels of baseline depressive symptom severity (Froeliger et al, 2012; Gilbert et al, 2008). Furthermore, research on “depressive realism” suggests that persons with elevated DS engage in relatively more processing of negative information (Keller, Lipkus, & Rimer, 2002; Moore & Fresco, 2012).…”

“…Prior research on the effectiveness of pictorial HWLs on cigarette packages has shown that cognitive and behavioral responses to HWLs predict cessation behavior (Borland et al, 2009; Fathelrahman et al, 2009; Yong et al, 2014). Depressive symptoms severity may lead to greater negative emotional interference on cognition (Froeliger, Modlin, Kozink, Wang, & McClernon, 2012), thus may influence the cognitive processing of negative emotional information that is displayed on cigarette pack HWLs. In addition, factors such as negativity bias that accompany depressive states (Moore & Fresco, 2012) may lead smokers with elevated DS to engage in more frequent or intensive processing of negative health related messages on HWLs.…”

Integrating Ecological Momentary Assessment and Functional Brain Imaging Methods: New Avenues for Studying and Treating Tobacco Dependence

“…For instance, several studies have demonstrated that brief abstinence from nicotine alters patterns of brain activation during the performance of effortful cognitive tasks (Froeliger, Modlin, Kozink, Wang, & McClernon, 2012;Kozink, Kollins, & McClernon, 2010;Kozink, Lutz, Rose, Froeliger, & McClernon, 2010;Sweet et al, 2010;Xu et al, 2005;Xu et al, 2006), and that these effects are moderated by age (Falcone et al, 2013), genotype (Loughead et al, 2009), and individual differences in performance (Nichols, Gates, Molenaar, & Wilson, 2013). More recently, fMRI has been used to characterize the mechanisms through which nicotine replacement therapy (Beaver et al, 2011;Cole et al, 2010) and other medications for the treatment of tobacco dependence (e.g., varenicline; Loughead et al, 2010) remediate withdrawal-related cognitive deficits.…”

Mindfulness, Mechanisms and Meaning: Perspectives From the Cognitive Neuroscience of Addiction

“…For example, compared to drug-naïve controls, persons with substance-use disorders exhibit hypoactivation in frontal cognitive-control neural circuitry during conflict resolution tasks (Barrós-Loscertales, Bustamante et al 2011, Froeliger, Modlin et al 2013), and while processing salient emotional information (Sinha, Lacadie et al 2005, Goldstein, Alia-Klein et al 2009, Asensio, Romero et al 2010, Payer, Lieberman et al 2010, Augustus Diggs, Froeliger et al 2013, Froeliger, Modlin et al 2013). Moreover, acute withdrawal further exacerbates dysregulated prefrontal brain function across an array of neurocognitive tasks (Garavan, Kaufman et al 2008, Azizian, Nestor et al 2010, Kozink, Lutz et al 2010, Froeliger, Beckham et al 2012, Froeliger, Modlin et al 2012, Froeliger, Modlin et al 2012). …”

“…In contrast, as compared to controls, substance abusers exhibit sustained hypofrontality in regions subserving cognitive control and error monitoring (Sinha, Lacadie et al 2005, Goldstein, Alia-Klein et al 2009, Asensio, Romero et al 2010, Payer, Lieberman et al 2010, Barrós-Loscertales, Bustamante et al 2011, Augustus Diggs, Froeliger et al 2013, Froeliger, Modlin et al 2013). Interestingly, among nicotine-dependent cigarette smokers, smoking abstinence as compared to satiety results in hyperfrontal response during neurocognitive tasks, without producing significant improvements in task performance or measured behavior (Kozink, Lutz et al 2010, Froeliger, Modlin et al 2012, Froeliger, Modlin et al 2012). Taken together, these findings, along with the broader literature (Goldstein and Volkow 2002), demonstrate that drug state-dependent sustained patterns of dysregulated top-down prefrontal neural function undergirds maladaptive behaviors found in substance-use disorders.…”