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A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

Published on: February 20, 2019

Does Tobacco Abstinence Decrease Reward Sensitivity? A Human Laboratory Test.

John R Hughes¹, Alan J Budney², Sharon R Muellers¹

¹Departments of Psychiatry and Psychological Sciences, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT.

Nicotine & Tobacco Research : Official Journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco

|May 10, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Smoking abstinence slightly reduced self-reported pleasure but did not alter objective reward sensitivity in a rigorous human study. These small effects from quitting smoking were mostly short-lived.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychology
Addiction Research

Background:

Animal studies suggest nicotine abstinence reduces reward sensitivity.
Human studies on smoking cessation's effect on reward sensitivity yield mixed results.
This study employed rigorous methods to investigate reward sensitivity during smoking abstinence.

Purpose of the Study:

To examine the impact of smoking abstinence on reward sensitivity in human smokers.
To compare objective and subjective measures of reward sensitivity during and after smoking cessation.
To assess changes in anhedonia, delay discounting, and affect during nicotine withdrawal.

Main Methods:

A human laboratory study involved 211 current smokers attempting to quit and 67 former smokers.
Participants completed operant measures of reward sensitivity and self-report surveys weekly for up to 4 weeks post-quit.
Primary analysis focused on 61 participants who successfully abstained for the entire 4-week period.

Main Results:

Smoking abstinence decreased self-reported pleasure and reward frequency (6%-14%).
Abstinence increased self-reported anhedonia measures.
No significant change was observed in objective reward sensitivity as measured by the operant task.

Conclusions:

Smoking cessation reduced subjective reward sensitivity but not objective measures.
The observed effects of abstinence on self-report measures were small and largely transient.
Findings suggest a dissociation between subjective experience and behavioral response to rewards during nicotine withdrawal.