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Discounting Delayed and Probabilistic Monetary Gains and Losses by Smokers of Cigarettes

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Behavioral Economics of Preferences, Choices, and Happiness

Abstract

Rationale: Nicotine dependence has been associated with impulsivity and discounting delayed/uncertain outcomes. Objectives: This study had two main objectives: (1) to examine the relationship between the number of cigarettes consumed per day and the degree to which delayed and uncertain monetary gains and losses are discounted by smokers, and (2) to determine the relationship between the estimated dose of nicotine intake per day and the degree to which four types of discounting occur. Methods: Twenty seven habitual smokers and 23 never smokers participated in this experiment. They were required to choose between immediate and delayed monetary rewards (or losses), or between guaranteed and probabilistic rewards (or losses). Results: The degree to which delayed monetary gains were discounted was significantly and positively correlated with both the number of cigarettes smoked and the estimated dose of nicotine intake per day. Conversely, there was no relationship between smoking and the remaining three types of discounting. Also, mild smokers in our sample did not differ from never smokers in discounting monetary gains or losses. Conclusions: In general, our results suggest that both the frequency of nicotine self-administration, as well as the dosage, are positively associated with greater delay discounting of gains. One neuropsychopharmacological explanation for this effect is that chronic nicotine intake may induce neuroadaptation of the neural circuitry involved in reward processing.

The original article first appeared in Psychopharmacology (Berlin) 182(4):508–515, 2005. A newly written addendum has been added to this book chapter.

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Acknowledgements

The research reported in this chapter was supported by grants from the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (“21st century center of excellence” grant and grant #17650074) and Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (23118001 & 23118002; Adolescent Mind & Self-Regulation) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, and a Yamaguchi endocrinological disorder grant. We are grateful to Dr. Paul Wehr, Dr. Yoshiro Tsutsui and anonymous reviewers for critical reading of our manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuropharmacology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, N15 W7 Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-8638, Japan

    Yu Ohmura

  2. Department of Behavioral Science, Hokkaido University, N10 W7 Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan

    Taiki Takahashi

  3. Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

    Nozomi Kitamura

Authors
  1. Yu Ohmura
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  2. Taiki Takahashi
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  3. Nozomi Kitamura
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Correspondence to Taiki Takahashi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. of Soc. and Econ. Research, Osaka University, Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan

    Shinsuke Ikeda

  2. Nagoya University Graduate School of Economics, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

    Hideaki Kiyoshi Kato

  3. Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University, Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan

    Fumio Ohtake

  4. Faculty of Economics, Konan University, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan

    Yoshiro Tsutsui

Addendum: Recent Developments

This addendum has been newly written by Taiki Takahashi for this book chapter.

Addendum: Recent Developments

A number of studies on the relationships between temporal (social and probability) discounting and impulsivity associated with smoking behavior (nicotine addiction) have recently been conducted. In behavioral economics, Kang and Ikeda (2013) utilized questionnaires which may be related to impulsivity and hyperbolicity in temporal discounting and observed that both psychological tendencies are positively associated with smoking behavior. Although Ohmura et al. (2005) did not examine a causal direction from nicotine intake to greater impulsivity in temporal discounting, recent studies demonstrated the causality. For instance, Kelsey and Niraula (2013) studied the effect of acute and sub-chronic administration of nicotine on temporal discounting by rats. They reported that nicotine administration increased impulsivity in temporal discounting. Secades-Villa et al. (2014) reported that prolonged (1 year) decreased impulsivity in temporal discounting by human ex-smokers. These reports indicate that nicotine intake increases impulsivity in temporal discounting. Other recent studies suggest the opposite causal direction may also exists. Harris et al. (2014) studied the roles of impulsivity in temporal discounting by humans in response to smoking cessation treatments and observed that temporal discounting predicts the treatment outcomes. Consistent with this finding, Kayir et al. (2014) demonstrated that trait impulsivity predicts the effects of nicotine withdrawal on impulsive choice by rats. It is therefore probable that there are two causal directions in the relationship between nicotine intake and impulsive temporal discounting: from nicotine intake to impulsivity in temporal discounting and vice versa. Our previous study on the relationship between alcoholism and temporal discounting also supports this interpretation (Takahashi et al. 2007).

In Neuroeconomics, several advances have been made on the neurobiological foundations of the relationship between smoking (and other dopaminergic drugs) and temporal discounting (Takahashi 2009; MacKillop et al. 2012). Kobiella et al. (2013) observed that the activation of smokers’ ventral striatum is weaker than that of non-smokers’ during intertemporal choice for delayed gains. Sheffer et al. (2013) studied the effect of high-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on temporal discounting by smokers and reported that the stimulation decreased temporal discounting of gains, but increased temporal discounting of loss. Theoretically, Takahashi (2011) proposed that addicts’ time-inconsistency in temporal discounting may be related to nonlinearity in time perception (Takahashi 2005) via alteration of dopaminergic systems (e.g., D2 receptors and electrical coupling between dopaminergic neurons, Takahashi 2007; Kawamura et al. 2013), which should be examined in future studies in psychophysical neuroeconomics (Han and Takahashi 2012; Takahashi and Han 2013).

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Ohmura, Y., Takahashi, T., Kitamura, N. (2016). Discounting Delayed and Probabilistic Monetary Gains and Losses by Smokers of Cigarettes. In: Ikeda, S., Kato, H., Ohtake, F., Tsutsui, Y. (eds) Behavioral Economics of Preferences, Choices, and Happiness. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55402-8_8

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