Effects of cue exposure and deprivation on cognitive resources in smokers

This research examines the effects of manipulations designed to induce an urge to smoke on cognitive resources. Two cue-exposure experiments were conducted in which current smokers' reported urge to smoke and cognitive resources, as measured by a secondary reaction time (RT) probe, were assessed. In each study, subjects came to the laboratory twice, once while deprived of smoking for 12 hr and once when they were nondeprived. During each session, subjects were exposed to both smoking and control cues. Results indicated that experimental manipulations designed to elicit a strong urge to smoke led to an increase in self-reported urge to smoke and a decrease of available cognitive resources, as measured by RT. In addition, these 2 measures were significantly correlated. These data, in conjunction with previous findings using alcohol-dependent subjects (M. A. Sayette et al., 1994), lend support to the validity of RT as an objective measure of the effects of cue exposure on cognitive resources.