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Does Tobacco Abstinence Decrease Reward Sensitivity? A Human Laboratory Test

John R Hughes, Alan J Budney, Sharon R Muellers, Dustin C Lee, Peter W. Callas, Stacey C Sigmon, James R Fingar, Jeff Priest
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/128744
John R Hughes
1Center on Health and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry; University of Vermont, Burlington VT;
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Alan J Budney
2Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH;
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Sharon R Muellers
1Center on Health and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry; University of Vermont, Burlington VT;
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Dustin C Lee
2Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH;
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Peter W. Callas
3Department of Medical Biostatistics, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
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Stacey C Sigmon
1Center on Health and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry; University of Vermont, Burlington VT;
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James R Fingar
1Center on Health and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry; University of Vermont, Burlington VT;
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Jeff Priest
3Department of Medical Biostatistics, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
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Abstract

Introduction Animal studies report abstinence from nicotine makes rewards less rewarding; however, the results of human tests of the effects of cessation on reward sensitivity are mixed. The current study tested reward sensitivity in abstinent smokers using more rigorous methods than most prior studies.

Methods A human laboratory study compared outcomes for 1 week prior to quitting to those during 4 weeks post-quit. The study used smokers trying to quit, objective and subjective measures, multiple measures during smoking and abstinence, and monetary rewards to increase the prevalence of abstinence. Current daily smokers (n = 211) who were trying to quit completed an operant measure of reward sensitivity and a survey of pleasure from various rewards as well as self-reports of anhedonia, delay discounting, positive affect and tobacco withdrawal twice each week. A comparison group of long-term former smokers (n = 67) also completed the tasks weekly for 4 weeks. Primary analyses were based on the 61 current smokers who abstained for all 4 weeks.

Results Stopping smoking decreased self-reported pleasure from rewards but did not decrease reward sensitivity on the operant task. Abstinence also decreased self-reported reward frequency and increased the two anhedonia measures. However, the changes with abstinence were small for all outcomes (6-14%) and most lasted less than a week.

Conclusion Abstinence from tobacco decreased most self-report measures of reward sensitivity; however, it did not change the objective measure. The self-report effects were small.

Implications

  • Animal research suggests that nicotine withdrawal decreases reward sensitivity. Replication tests of this in humans have produced inconsistent results.

  • We report what we believe is a more rigorous test

  • We found smoking abstinence slightly decreases self-reports of reward sensitivity but does not do so for behavioral measures of reward sensitivity

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.
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Posted April 19, 2017.
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Does Tobacco Abstinence Decrease Reward Sensitivity? A Human Laboratory Test
John R Hughes, Alan J Budney, Sharon R Muellers, Dustin C Lee, Peter W. Callas, Stacey C Sigmon, James R Fingar, Jeff Priest
bioRxiv 128744; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/128744
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Does Tobacco Abstinence Decrease Reward Sensitivity? A Human Laboratory Test
John R Hughes, Alan J Budney, Sharon R Muellers, Dustin C Lee, Peter W. Callas, Stacey C Sigmon, James R Fingar, Jeff Priest
bioRxiv 128744; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/128744

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