title: Effect of varenicline on aspects of inhibitory control in smokers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Varenicline, a partial agonist at α4β2 nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) aids smoking cessation by reducing craving. Successful quitting may be associated with greater inhibitory control but the effectiveness of varenicline in this regard is unknown.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to investigate the effect of varenicline on aspects of inhibitory control in smokers.
  
  
  METHODS
  A double-blind, placebo-controlled study investigating the effect of varenicline 1 mg (or matched placebo) in satiated and abstinent smokers. Tests included Rapid Visual Information Processing (RVIP), Stop-Signal (SS), Prospective Memory (PM) and the Cambridge Gambling Task (CGT).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Smoking enhanced RVIP accuracy and latency to respond. Varenicline did not alter RVIP performance, nor the effect of smoking, suggesting that these effects were unrelated to α4β2 nAChRs. Smoking increased the number of errors during SS and increased the stop latency, indicating that smoking decreased inhibitory control. Varenicline partially mimicked this effect of smoking but also reduced the smoking-induced increase, indicating a role for α4β2 nAChRs. Likewise, smoking increased the number of points bet following a win during CGT and varenicline blocked this effect. There was no effect of smoking or varenicline on PM target detection per se. However, smoking protected the target detection rate in the ongoing task when a concurrent intention was introduced. Varenicline improved response speed in both satiated and abstinent smokers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Some aspects of inhibitory control may be mediated by α4β2-related mechanisms and blockade of smoking-induced disinhibition may contribute towards the action of varenicline as an aid to smoking cessation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton, Moulsecoomb, Brighton, BN2 4GJ, UK.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Austin
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Duka
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rusted
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jackson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001552:Benzazepines / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D056344:Executive Function / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011810:Quinoxalines / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects*; D012907:Smoking / Q000188:drug therapy; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy; D000068580:Varenicline; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001552:Benzazepines; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D011810:Quinoxalines; D000068580:Varenicline