title: Cigarette cues capture smokers' attention: evidence from event-related potentials.
abstract: Abstract Before starting a smoking cessation treatment, 51 smokers took part in a study aimed at investigating brain mechanisms associated with attention allocation. Event-related potentials to acoustic startle probes were recorded from 129 sensors during the presentation of neutral, pleasant, unpleasant, and cigarette-related pictures. Results indicated that the amplitude of the startle probe P3 component was reduced for pleasant, unpleasant, and cigarette-related conditions relative to neutral. Surface Laplacian estimates showed that sources of electrocortical activity under frontal and parietal sensors contributed to the modulation of this effect. For smokers, cigarette-related stimuli, like intrinsically motivating ones, capture attentional resources and therefore reduce the ability to process competing stimuli. The depletion of attentional resources in the presence of cigarette-related cues may contribute to the high relapse rate observed during attempts to quit smoking.
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Science, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. fversace@mdanderson.org
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Versace
authors.forename: Jason D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: Cho Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Minnix
authors.forename: Victoria L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Brian L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Wetter
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Cinciripini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000502:physiology; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult