Neurobiology of Tobacco Withdrawal

Quitting cigarette smoking gives rise to a broad range of signs and symptoms including the disruption of cognitive, emotional and behavioral processes. Previous work demonstrates that each of these signs and symptoms has a unique trajectory-varying in both severity and duration-which suggests that each is under the control of different neural systems. Our current work seeks to evaluate the neural basis of the effects of smoking withdrawal on processes including attention, working memory, craving, conditioned drug-cue reactivity, response inhibition and decision making. Functional neuroimaging and pharmacological challenges are used in this research.

Representative publications:

McClernon, F. J., Hiott, F. B., Huettel, S. A., & Rose, J. E. (2005). Abstinence-induced changes in self-report craving correlate with event-related fMRI responses to smoking cues. Neuropsychopharmacology, 30, 1940-1947.

Gilbert, D. G., McClernon, F. J., Rabinovich, N. E., Sugai, C., Plath, L. C., Asgaard, G., Zuo, Y., Huggenvik, J., & Botros, N. (2004). Effects of quitting smoking on EEG activation and attention last for more than 31 days and are more severe with stress, dependence, DRD2 A1 allele, and depressive traits. Nicotine and Tobacco Research, 6, 249-267.

Smoking and Psychiatric Illness

Individuals with psychiatric illness smoke at disproportionately high rates. Our research has examined smoking as it relates to depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Much of this work has been conducted in collaboration with colleagues at Duke including Dr. Scott Kollins (ADHD) and Dr. Jeannie Beckham (PTSD). This work has focused on understanding the cognitive, affective and behavioral effects of nicotine administration and nicotine withdrawal in these populations.

Representative publications:

McClernon, F. J., Beckham, J. C., Mozley, S. L., Feldman, M. E., Vrana, S. R., & Rose, J. E. (2005). The effects of trauma recall on smoking topography in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and non-PTSD trauma survivors. Addictive Behaviors, 30, 247-257.

McClernon, F. J., Hiott, F. B., Westman, E. C., Rose, J. E., Levin, E. D. (2006, online). Transdermal nicotine attenuates depression symptoms in nonsmokers: A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Psychopharmacology.

Kollins, S. H., McClernon, F. J., & Fuemmeler, B. F. (2005). Association between smoking and ADHD symptoms in a population-based sample of young adults. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 1142-1147.

Non-nicotine Factors

Recent evidence suggests that non-nicotine factors play a significant role in tobacco addiction. Smokers report enjoying the behavioral and sensory aspects of smoking, and smoking denicotinized cigarettes has been shown to suppress craving. Our research has shown that smokers are sensitive to the effects that foods and beverages have on the taste of cigarettes, and this sensitivity may drive smoking behavior (e.g., smoking menthol cigarettes). Ongoing research seeks to develop and evaluate new treatments that devalue the sensory and behavioral components of smoking using modern learning principles.

Representative publications:

McClernon, F. J., Westman, E. C., Rose, J. E., & Lutz, A. M. (2006, accepted). The effects of foods, beverages and other factors on cigarette palatability. Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

McClernon, F. J., Rose, J. E., Hiott, F. B., & Liu, J. (2005). Extinction-based smoking cessation treatment attenuates event-related brain responses to smoking cues. Poster presented at the meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, Orlando, Florida. ^ TOP

Research Funding

The Tobacco Research Laboratory has a history of funding from diverse sources:

Government Agencies
National Institue on Drug Abuse
National Cancer Institute

Foundations
The Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Foundation
National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression ^ TOP