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Motivation to quit smoking and startle modulation in female smokers: context specificity of smoking cue reactivity

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Abstract

Rationale

Cue reactivity and startle reflex modulation paradigms have been used in addiction research to determine the affective motivational state of craving induced by viewing drug-related cues. However, recent studies suggest that cue reactivity and startle reflex modulation in people with addictions can be suppressed, or even reversed, depending on context.

Objective

The present study looked at the contextual specificity of smoking cue startle modulation by examining individuals with low and high motivation to quit smoking.

Materials and methods

Emotional modulation of the startle reflex was examined in 32 female smokers exposed to affective stimuli and tobacco cues. The sample was divided into high and low motivation to quit smoking groups using the Processes of Change Questionnaire.

Results

The tobacco cues produced a greater startle magnitude in the group with high motivation to quit smoking than the group with low motivation, which was independent of craving level.

Conclusion

Motivation to be abstinent is a relevant contextual factor accounting for variance in cue reactivity in individual smokers.

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Acknowledgments

The present research was supported by the following grants: Ministerio de Salud y Consumo (project MSC2005-7179), Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (project PSI2008-04372), and Junta de Andalucía (grupo HUM-388).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    Miguel Angel Muñoz, Sofía Idrissi, María Blasa Sánchez-Barrera, Ma Carmen Fernández & Jaime Vila

  2. Departamento de Psicología, University of Balearic Islands, Cra. de Valldemossa, km 7.5., C.p.07122, Palma de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain

    Miguel Angel Muñoz

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  1. Miguel Angel Muñoz
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Correspondence to Miguel Angel Muñoz.

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ESM 1

Tobacco, pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral 3D immersive environments. Each 3D-IE was recorded in a 20-s video clip and adapted to a semi-spherica screen (180° field of view), creating a sensation of immersion (JPEG 144 kb)

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Muñoz, M.A., Idrissi, S., Sánchez-Barrera, M.B. et al. Motivation to quit smoking and startle modulation in female smokers: context specificity of smoking cue reactivity. Psychopharmacology 218, 525–532 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-011-2334-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-011-2334-0

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