Vogel W, Broverman D, Klaiber E L
J Comp Physiol Psychol. 1977 Apr;91(2):418-22. doi: 10.1037/h0077333.
Two studies are reported in which electroencephalograms (EEGs) of habitual cigarette smokers and of nonsmokers were taken before and after they were required to smoke a cigarette. The EEGs were scored for incidence of EEG "driving" responses to photic stimulation, an index that appears to reflect the balance between central adrenergic and cholinergic nervous systems. The findings suggest that smokers tend to have a central autonomic balance less in favor of adrenergic functioning than do nonsmokers. Cigarette smoking may alleviate a possible central adrenergic insufficiency of smokers. These findings suggest a solution to "Nesbitt's paradox," which has reference to the fact that while nicotine is a central adrenergic stimulant, smokers describe the effect of smoking in sedational terms (i.e., as relaxing or calming).
本文报道了两项研究，分别对习惯性吸烟者和非吸烟者在被要求吸烟前后进行脑电图（EEG）检测。通过对EEG中光刺激诱发的“驱动”反应发生率进行评分，该指标似乎能反映中枢肾上腺素能和胆碱能神经系统之间的平衡。研究结果表明，吸烟者的中枢自主神经平衡相较于非吸烟者，更不利于肾上腺素能功能。吸烟可能会缓解吸烟者潜在的中枢肾上腺素能不足。这些发现为“内斯比特悖论”提供了解决方案，该悖论指的是，虽然尼古丁是一种中枢肾上腺素能兴奋剂，但吸烟者却用镇静的术语描述吸烟的效果（即感觉放松或平静）。
