Smoking, processing speed and attention in a choice reaction time task

Bates, Timothy C.; Mangan, G. L.; Stough, Con; Corballis, Paul M.

doi:10.1007/bf02246195

Cited by 46 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…In addition to its rewarding effects, acute nicotine has cognitive enhancing properties in humans. Specifically, acute nicotine administration enhances attention (Parrott and Craig 1992;Bates et al 1995;Hahn et al 2007;Hong et al 2011), learning and memory (Mangan and Golding 1983;Peeke and Peeke 1984;Warburton et al 1986;Colrain et al 1992), and information processing (Wesnes and Warburton 1983;Provost and Woodward 1991;for review, see Sherwood 1993). In agreement with human studies, there is a great body of evidence suggesting that acute nicotine augments hippocampus-dependent contextual and spatial learning and memory while not affecting hippocampus-independent subtypes of learning (e.g., cued learning) in rodents.…”

Section: Nicotinementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of drugs of abuse on hippocampal plasticity and hippocampus-dependent learning and memory: contributions to development and maintenance of addiction

2016

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It has long been hypothesized that conditioning mechanisms play major roles in addiction. Specifically, the associations between rewarding properties of drugs of abuse and the drug context can contribute to future use and facilitate the transition from initial drug use into drug dependency. On the other hand, the self-medication hypothesis of drug abuse suggests that negative consequences of drug withdrawal result in relapse to drug use as an attempt to alleviate the negative symptoms. In this review, we explored these hypotheses and the involvement of the hippocampus in the development and maintenance of addiction to widely abused drugs such as cocaine, amphetamine, nicotine, alcohol, opiates, and cannabis. Studies suggest that initial exposure to stimulants (i.e., cocaine, nicotine, and amphetamine) and alcohol may enhance hippocampal function and, therefore, the formation of augmented drug-context associations that contribute to the development of addiction. In line with the self-medication hypothesis, withdrawal from stimulants, ethanol, and cannabis results in hippocampus-dependent learning and memory deficits, which suggest that an attempt to alleviate these deficits may contribute to relapse to drug use and maintenance of addiction. Interestingly, opiate withdrawal leads to enhancement of hippocampus-dependent learning and memory. Given that a conditioned aversion to drug context develops during opiate withdrawal, the cognitive enhancement in this case may result in the formation of an augmented association between withdrawalinduced aversion and withdrawal context. Therefore, individuals with opiate addiction may return to opiate use to avoid aversive symptoms triggered by the withdrawal context. Overall, the systematic examination of the role of the hippocampus in drug addiction may help to formulate a better understanding of addiction and underlying neural substrates.Addiction is a major worldwide health problem that results in maladaptive behavioral changes, some that can last a lifetime. This behavioral plasticity, often times maladaptive, must be associated changes in neural plasticity. In fact, it has been noted multiple times that there is a high degree of overlap between the neurobiology of learning and memory and the neurobiology of addiction

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Section: Nicotinementioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of drugs of abuse on hippocampal plasticity and hippocampus-dependent learning and memory: contributions to development and maintenance of addiction

2016

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“…The task was subsequently modified to increase the level of difficulty by using a wide array (holes 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9) and by varying the ITI (2-10 s instead of a constant 2 s). Such modifications have previously been used to increase task difficulty in human sustained attention tasks (Bates et al, 1995). These modifications differ from the acute challenges utilized for rats as they are employed in both training and testing days (Hahn et al, 2002).…”

Section: Study 1fthe Effect Of Nicotinementioning

confidence: 99%

Nicotine Improves Sustained Attention in Mice: Evidence for Involvement of the α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor

Young

Finlayson

Spratt

et al. 2004

Neuropsychopharmacol

209

174

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In humans, nicotine has been shown to improve attention in both normal and impaired individuals. Observations in rats reflect some, but not all aspects of the nicotine-induced improvements in humans. To date these findings have not been replicated in mice. To examine the effect of nicotine on sustained attention in mice, we have established a version of the 5-choice serial reaction-time (5-CSR) task with graded levels of difficulty, based upon spatial displacement and a variable intertrial interval. Using this paradigm, microgram doses of nicotine produced a consistent reduction in the level of omissions and an improvement in proportion correct in normal mice. This improvement in sustained attention was made irrespectively of whether mice had previously received nicotine. In an attempt to elucidate which nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subtype(s) mediate this effect, we examined the performance of a7 nAChR knockout (KO) mice in the 5-CSR task. a7 nAChR KO mice not only acquired the task more slowly than their wild-type littermates, but on attaining asymptotic performance, they exhibited a higher level of omissions. In conclusion, by increasing the level of task difficulty, the performance of mice was maintained at sufficiently low levels to allow a demonstrable improvement in performance upon nicotine administration. Furthermore, as a7 KO mice are clearly impaired in the acquisition and asymptotic performance of this task, the a7 nAChR may be involved in mediating these effects of nicotine.

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“…Smokers commonly believe that smoking improves attention, alertness and concentration (West, 1993) and such perceived benefits have been suggested to motivate continued smoking (Heishman et al 2010). A plethora of studies have demonstrated that smoking can improve, and deprivation impair, performance on a variety of cognitive domains including reaction time (Bates et al 1995;Giannakoulas et al 2003;Perkins et al 1995), vigilance/attention (Bell et al 1999;Gilbert et al 1997), inhibitory control (Powell et al 2001), learning (Soar et al 2008), and working memory (Jacobsen et al 2005;Merritt et al 2012). Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is also associated with attenuation of tobacco withdrawal symptoms (Kleykamp et al 2008;Shiffman et al 2006) and improved cognitive performance in abstinent smokers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nicotine derived from the electronic cigarette improves time-based prospective memory in abstinent smokers

2013

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Rationale: It is well-established that nicotine improves, and deprivation impairs, cognitive performance and mood in smokers. Prospective memory (PM), remembering to execute a delayed intention at a given time point, is under-explored in smokers. Whilst a handful of studies have shown improved PM with nicotine, effects of nicotine delivered via the electronic cigarette have not been investigated.Objective: This study explores whether, by comparison with placebo, nicotine delivered via the e-cigarette can improve PM, tobacco withdrawal symptoms and desire to smoke in abstinent smokers.Methods: Twenty smokers, abstinent for 8-10 hours, each completed two experimental sessions under nicotine (18mg) and placebo (0mg) e-cigarette conditions. Participants completed a single-item desire to smoke scale and the Mood and Physical Symptoms Scale (MPSS). PM was measured using the Cambridge Prospective Memory Test (CAMPROMPT).Results: Compared with placebo, the nicotine e-cigarette reduced desire to smoke and tobacco withdrawal symptoms, and improved time-based but not event-based PM. There was a moderate, marginally significant negative correlation between PM performance during abstinence and nicotine dependence.Conclusions: This is the first study to show that nicotine derived via e-cigarette can improve PM in abstinent smokers suggesting efficient nicotine delivery. That the effect of nicotine was restricted to time-based rather than event-based PM is consistent with the view that nicotine acts to improve performance on strategic (effortful) rather than automatic processing. These findings add to the growing body of evidence that the e-cigarette can replace some of the effects of nicotine derived from tobacco smoking thus highlighting its potential for smoking cessation.

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Smoking, processing speed and attention in a choice reaction time task

Cited by 46 publications

References 24 publications

Effects of drugs of abuse on hippocampal plasticity and hippocampus-dependent learning and memory: contributions to development and maintenance of addiction

Effects of drugs of abuse on hippocampal plasticity and hippocampus-dependent learning and memory: contributions to development and maintenance of addiction

Nicotine Improves Sustained Attention in Mice: Evidence for Involvement of the α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor

Nicotine derived from the electronic cigarette improves time-based prospective memory in abstinent smokers

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