The feasibility of an in‐scanner smoking lapse paradigm to examine the neural correlates of lapses

Abstract

Quitting smoking is notoriously difficult. Models of nicotine dependence posit that strength of cognitive control contributes to maintaining smoking abstinence during smoking cessation attempts. We examine the role for large‐scale functional brain systems associated with cognitive control in smoking lapse using a novel adaption of a well‐validated behavioral paradigm. We use data from 17 daily smokers (five females) after 12 h of smoking abstinence. Participants completed up to 10 sequential 5‐min functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) runs, within a single scanning session. After each run, participants decided whether to stay in the scanner in order to earn additional money or to terminate the session in order to smoke a cigarette (i.e., lapse) and forego additional monetary reward. Cox regression results indicate that decreased segregation of the default mode system from the frontoparietal system undermines the ability to resist smoking. This study demonstrates the feasibility of modifying an established behavioral model of smoking lapse behavior for use in the neuro imaging environment, and it provides initial evidence that this approach yields valuable information regarding fine‐grained, time‐varying changes in patterns of neural activity in the moments leading up to a decision to smoke. Specifically, results lend support to the hypothesis that the time‐varying interplay between large‐scale functional brain systems associated with cognitive control is implicated in smoking lapse behavior.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jan 28, 2021
Source ID
10.1111/adb.13001

Entities

People

  • Danielle Bassett
  • David M Lydon
  • Emily B Falk
  • Robert Ross MacLean
  • Stephen J. Wilson

Organizations

  • Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
  • Army Research Office
  • Assisi Foundation of Memphis
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
  • John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
  • National Institute of Mental Health
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse
  • National Science Foundation
  • Office of Naval Research
  • Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
  • Pennsylvania State University
  • United States Army Research Laboratory
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • Yale University

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Educational Psychology
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