Effects of smoking/nicotine on anxiety, heart rate, and lateralization of EEG during a stressful movie.
The effects of smoking cigarettes with differing FTC nicotine deliveries on anxiety and EEG activity were evaluated in 40 smokers who were compared with 40 non-smokers, matched for age and gender. Following smoking (sham-smoking in the case of the non-smokers), the participants viewed a stress-inducing movie. Smoking higher-nicotine delivery cigarettes during the movie, as compared to smoking low-nicotine control cigarettes, was associated with reductions in anxiety and right hemisphere activation, increased heart rate, and enhancement of the ratio of left-hemisphere parietal EEG activation to right-hemisphere activation. These results are interpreted as indicating that the anxiolytic effects of nicotine may be mediated by the right hemisphere. The EEG activity and emotional responses of non-smokers were more like those of smokers who smoked the lower-nicotine cigarettes than those of smokers of the higher-nicotine cigarettes.
D G
DG
Gilbert
J H
JH
Robinson
C L
CL
Chamberlin
C D
CD
Spielberger
D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000187:drug effects*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009040:Motion Pictures; D009538:Nicotine / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications
D009538:Nicotine