title: Can repetitive mental simulation of smoking engender habituation?
abstract: Smoking cue exposure sensitizes smokers to cigarettes (i.e., increases cravings). Research examining the overlap between perception and mental imagery suggests that mentally simulating smoking a cigarette in a manner analogous to actually smoking should lead to habituation or a decrease in a smoker's motivation to smoke. The authors sought to determine whether repetitive mental simulation of smoking can engender habituation thereby reducing smoking cue-induced craving and shifts in mood, latency to smoke, and the hedonic response to smoking. These hypotheses were tested in nontreatment seeking smokers (n = 61; 24 women/37 men) ages 18-55 years old, who were not incentivized to quit. The authors used a 2 (in vivo cue: smoking, neutral) × 2 (imagery: repetitive, limited) within-subjects design. Results revealed that repetitive imagery altered the effect of cue type for negative mood and subjective cigarette reward as evidenced by significant Imagery × Cue interactions. Repetitive imagery after a smoking cue reduced negative mood more than limited imagery (β = -1.19, p = .004). Repetitive imagery also reduced the reward derived from smoking a cigarette more than limited imagery (β = -.41, p < .0001). Only main effects of cue type on craving (β = 3.39, p = .01) and positive mood (β = -1.18, p = .03) were found. Greater imagery strength predicted a longer latency to smoke (β = .76, p = .001). Cognitive strategies that directly engage cue-induced craving through repetitive smoking imagery may reduce smoking cue-induced increases in negative mood and reward from a cigarette lapse potentially preventing smoking relapse. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Audrain-McGovern
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Andrew A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Strasser
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: E Paul
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Wileyto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D066249:Craving; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D006801:Humans; D019018:Imagery, Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology*; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology