Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School, and Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2021 Oct 7;23(11):1902-1910. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntab120.
Menthol has been shown to target similar brain regions and neural receptors as nicotine, yet the association between menthol cigarette use and cognitive performance remains unknown.
This study examined differences in cognitive task performance between menthol (MS) and nonmenthol (NMS) cigarette smokers after acute cigarette consumption. Sixty white and black and/or African American, nonabstinent, MS (n = 30) and NMS (n = 30) were assessed presmoking and postsmoking their preferred cigarette on four computerized tasks: Continuous Performance Task (CPT; alerting attention), N-Back Task (working memory), Finger Tapping Task (motor control), and Apple Picker Task (reinforcement enhancement). Self-reported nicotine dependence and objective smoking topography measures were also compared between groups.
Initial unadjusted analyses showed a significant effect of cigarette type × time on CPT speed (p = .042), where MS improved while NMS group worsened in CPT speed after smoking. After controlling for baseline cigarette craving and cigarette nicotine levels, the effect of cigarette type × time for all cognitive outcomes was statistically nonsignificant (ps > .05). However, there remained a significant effect of cigarette type, where MS versus NMS had poorer CPT (p = .046) and N-Back Task accuracy (p = .006) but faster N-Back speed (p = .039). There were no statistically significant differences between groups on reinforcement enhancement, nicotine dependence, or smoking behavior outcomes (ps > .05).
Contrary to our hypotheses, results did not find a significant effect of cigarette type on the change in cognitive performance after acute smoking in nonabstinent smokers. Further studies are needed to clarify the specific pharmacological effects of nicotine and menthol on cognitive functioning.
The current study is the first to compare the potential enhancement of cognitive task performance after acute cigarette smoking between satiated menthol and nonmenthol cigarette smokers. Study results suggest that acute menthol cigarette use may not enhance cognitive function above and beyond nonmenthol cigarettes to increase dependence among menthol smokers. However, the contribution of other psychological factors (eg, craving, mood) and cigarette characteristics (eg, nicotine content) may be involved in cognitive function enhancement to perpetuate dependence and smoking persistence for menthol smokers.
薄荷醇已被证明能靶向与尼古丁相似的大脑区域和神经受体，但薄荷醇卷烟使用与认知表现之间的关联仍不清楚。
本研究在急性吸烟后，检查了薄荷醇（MS）和非薄荷醇（NMS）吸烟者在认知任务表现上的差异。60 名白人和黑人和/或非裔美国人、非戒烟者，MS（n = 30）和 NMS（n = 30）在四个计算机化任务中评估了他们喜欢的香烟：连续性能任务（CPT；警觉注意力）、N-回任务（工作记忆）、手指敲击任务（运动控制）和苹果采摘任务（强化增强）。还比较了两组之间的自我报告尼古丁依赖和客观吸烟地形测量值。
初始未调整分析显示，香烟类型×时间对 CPT 速度有显著影响（p =.042），吸烟后 MS 组 CPT 速度提高，而 NMS 组 CPT 速度恶化。在控制基线香烟渴求感和香烟尼古丁水平后，所有认知结果的香烟类型×时间的影响在统计学上均无显著性（ps >.05）。然而，香烟类型仍存在显著影响，MS 与 NMS 的 CPT（p =.046）和 N-回任务准确性（p =.006）较差，但 N-回速度较快（p =.039）。两组在强化增强、尼古丁依赖或吸烟行为结果上无统计学差异（ps >.05）。
与我们的假设相反，结果并未发现非戒烟者急性吸烟后香烟类型对认知表现变化的显著影响。需要进一步的研究来阐明尼古丁和薄荷醇对认知功能的具体药理学影响。
本研究首次比较了急性吸烟后，满足感薄荷醇和非薄荷醇吸烟者的认知任务表现增强情况。研究结果表明，急性薄荷醇香烟使用可能不会增强认知功能，超过非薄荷醇香烟，增加薄荷醇吸烟者的依赖。然而，其他心理因素（例如，渴求感、情绪）和香烟特征（例如，尼古丁含量）的贡献可能涉及到认知功能增强，以维持薄荷醇吸烟者的依赖和吸烟持续。
