Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
J Subst Abuse Treat. 2014 Feb;46(2):183-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2013.08.014. Epub 2013 Sep 24.
It has been speculated that attentional bias (AB) to smoking cues is a permanent feature of addiction. The objective of the present study was to investigate if abstinence duration has an influence on AB. Performance on a visual probe task of three groups (recent, intermediate and prolonged) of ex-smokers (n=62, mean age 50±11 years) with different abstinence durations was compared. Target/Control images were presented at three stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs: 200, 500, and 2000 ms) on a 17-inch monitor. Former smokers avoided target images (TIs). Mean reaction time to control images was shorter than to TIs, confirming the attentional avoidance of TIs. Attentional avoidance of TIs and the lower emotional valence of these stimuli may have been a strategy to avoid relapse. Sustained avoidance to smoking-related cues may be a predictor of long-term abstinence. Direct training of AB away from drug cues may improve the results of smoking cessation therapy.
人们推测，对吸烟线索的注意力偏差（AB）是成瘾的一个永久特征。本研究的目的是调查禁欲时间是否对 AB 有影响。比较了三组（近期、中期和长期）不同禁欲时间的戒烟者（n=62，平均年龄 50±11 岁）在视觉探测任务上的表现。目标/控制图像在 17 英寸显示器上以三个刺激起始时距（SOA：200、500 和 2000 毫秒）呈现。前吸烟者回避目标图像（TIs）。对控制图像的平均反应时间短于对 TIs 的反应时间，这证实了对 TIs 的注意力回避。对 TIs 的注意力回避和这些刺激的较低情绪效价可能是一种避免复发的策略。对与吸烟相关线索的持续回避可能是长期戒烟的预测指标。对药物线索的 AB 进行直接训练可能会提高戒烟治疗的效果。
