title: The role of impulsivity in the aetiology of drug dependence: reward sensitivity versus automaticity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Impulsivity has long been known as a risk factor for drug dependence, but the mechanisms underpinning this association are unclear. Impulsivity may confer hypersensitivity to drug reinforcement which establishes higher rates of instrumental drug-seeking and drug-taking behaviour, or may confer a propensity for automatic (non-intentional) control over drug-seeking/taking and thus intransigence to clinical intervention.
  
  
  METHODS
  The current study sought to distinguish these two accounts by measuring Barratt Impulsivity and craving to smoke in 100 smokers prior to their completion of an instrumental concurrent choice task for tobacco (to measure the rate of drug-seeking) and an ad libitum smoking test (to measure the rate of drug-taking-number of puffs consumed).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that impulsivity was not associated with higher rates of drug-seeking/taking, but individual differences in smoking uptake and craving were. Rather, nonplanning impulsivity moderated (decreased) the relationship between craving and drug-taking, but not drug-seeking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that whereas the uptake of drug use is mediated by hypervaluation of the drug as an instrumental goal, the orthogonal trait nonplanning impulsivity confers a propensity for automatic control over well-practiced drug-taking behaviour.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, UK. Lee.Hogarth@nottingham.ac.uk
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hogarth
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016739:Behavior, Addictive; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D008297:Male; D012201:Reward; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult