Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
Psychol Addict Behav. 2013 Jun;27(2):466-76. doi: 10.1037/a0027055. Epub 2012 Jan 30.
Brain imaging research has begun to characterize the neurocognitive processes that cigarette smokers utilize to cope with cue-elicited craving. Presently, however, it remains unclear whether distinct neural substrates support different types of coping. We sought to address this knowledge gap by examining neural responses associated with self-focused and other-focused coping techniques. Fifty-seven treatment-seeking male cigarette smokers initiated an attempt to quit smoking and subsequently underwent functional MRI, during which they were asked to hold and view neutral cues and a cigarette. Participants were instructed to engage in either self-focused or other-focused coping while being presented with the cigarette and an opportunity to smoke. Those who were told to engage in self-focused coping, but not those told to utilize other-focused coping, exhibited significant activation of several regions previously implicated in self-referential processing, including the medial prefrontal cortex, precuneus, and insula. In addition, coping strategy modulated the relationship between cigarette-related brain activation and self-reported craving in a subset of these regions. These findings indicate that coping strategies that entail the generation and maintenance of self-relevant information rely upon different psychological and neurobiological mechanisms than those that are not self-focused, even when the latter incorporate information that is very similar in content. Results extend previous work examining the neural substrates of coping with craving. Given the potential mnemonic and motivational advantages associated with self-related processing, findings may have significant implications for selecting and improving techniques for helping quitting smokers resist the urge to smoke.
大脑成像研究已经开始描述吸烟人群利用线索诱发的渴求感来应对的神经认知过程。然而，目前尚不清楚是否有不同的神经基质来支持不同类型的应对。我们试图通过研究与自我关注和他人关注应对技术相关的神经反应来解决这一知识空白。57 名寻求治疗的男性吸烟者开始尝试戒烟，并随后接受了功能磁共振成像，在此期间，他们被要求拿着并观看中性线索和香烟。参与者被指示在呈现香烟和吸烟机会时进行自我关注或他人关注的应对。那些被要求进行自我关注应对的人，而不是那些被要求进行他人关注应对的人，表现出与自我参照处理相关的几个区域的显著激活，包括内侧前额叶皮层、楔前叶和脑岛。此外，应对策略在这些区域的一部分中调节了与吸烟相关的大脑激活与自我报告的渴求之间的关系。这些发现表明，即使后者包含的内容非常相似，涉及生成和维持自我相关信息的应对策略依赖于不同于非自我关注的心理和神经生物学机制，即使后者包含的内容非常相似。结果扩展了以前研究应对渴求的神经基质的工作。鉴于与自我相关的处理相关的潜在记忆和动机优势，这些发现可能对选择和改进帮助戒烟者抵制吸烟冲动的技术具有重要意义。
