A Preliminary Study of Smoking Abstinence Effects on Acquisition and Reversal Learning in a Probabilistic Learning...

Cigarette dependence is characterized by persistent smoking despite shifts in reinforcement contingencies from primarily positive effects (e.g., mood enhancement) to more negative effects (e.g., smoking-related health problems). Reversal learning tasks evaluate individual differences in cognitive flexibility in response to shifting reinforcement contingencies. Little work has examined smoking abstinence effects on reversal learning in humans.

This study evaluated the effect of smoking abstinence (versus smoking as usual [SAU]) on learning acquisition and reversal learning. Participants completed a reversal learning task twice over two visits. Abstinence condition (24-h abstinent versus SAU) was randomly assigned and counterbalanced across the two visits. Data was analyzed using mixed effects models.

Participants (N = 51) were on average 38 years old, smoked 18 cigarettes per day, and were primarily White/Caucasian (73%) and female (73%). Results suggested learning acquisition was not significantly related to abstinence condition (ps > .13). A small improvement (5% difference) in reversal learning performance was observed during 24-h abstinence (mean optimal responding = 57%) compared to SAU (mean optimal responding = 52%; p = .01).

These results provide preliminary evidence that cigarette smoking may impair reversal learning with abstinence improving performance. However, future work is needed to understand task and participant factors that influence reversal learning processes.