Effects of acute smoking on brain activity vary with abstinence in smokers performing the N-Back Task: A preliminary study

Xu, Jiansong; Mendrek, Adrianna; Cohen, Mark S.; Monterosso, John; Simon, Sara; Brody, Arthur L.; Jarvik, Murray; Rodriguez, Paul; Ernst, Monique; London, Edythe D.

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2006.09.005

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 148, Issue 2 , Pages 103-109, 1 December 2006

Effects of acute smoking on brain activity vary with abstinence in smokers performing the N-Back Task: A preliminary study

Jiansong Xu
- Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States
Adrianna Mendrek
- Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States
Mark S. Cohen
- Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States
- Neurology, Radiological Sciences, Psychology, and Biomedical Physics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States
- Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States
John Monterosso
- Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States
Sara Simon
- Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States
Arthur L. Brody
- Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States
Murray Jarvik
- Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States
Paul Rodriguez
- Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States
- Present address: Department Cognitive Science, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA.
Monique Ernst
- Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
Edythe D. London
- Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States
- Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States
- Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States
- Corresponding author. Departments of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90024, United States. Tel.: +1 310 825 0606; fax: +1 310 825 0812.

Received 14 February 2006; received in revised form 9 August 2006; accepted 11 September 2006.

Abstract

We previously reported that compared with a non-deprivation state, overnight abstinence from cigarette smoking was associated with higher brain activity in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (L-DLPFC) during a low demanding working memory challenge, and little increase beyond this activity level during more taxing working memory conditions. In the present study, we aimed to assess how recent smoking (overnight abstinence vs. smoking ad libitum) influenced the effect of smoking a cigarette on brain activity related to a working memory challenge. Six smokers performed the N-Back working memory task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) both before and after smoking a cigarette in each of two test sessions: one following overnight abstinence from smoking (∼13 h) and the other following ad libitum smoking. Task-related activity in L-DLPFC showed a significant interaction between the effects of acute smoking, test session, and task load. After overnight abstinence, post-smoking brain activity in L-DLPFC was lower than before smoking at low task load and higher at high task load; corresponding activity on a day of ad libitum smoking was higher at low load and lower at high task load after smoking during the session. These data suggest that the effect of acute smoking on working memory processing depends on recent prior smoking and task load. In particular, they provide preliminary evidence that functional efficiency of working memory is improved by smoking a cigarette during abstinence, while the effect of a cigarette in a non-deprived state varies with the nature and difficulty of the working memory challenge. This interaction merits further examination in larger studies specifically designed to consider this issue.