Abstract
Research suggests that mindfulness-practices may aid smoking cessation. Yet, the neural mechanisms underlying the effects of mindfulness-practices on smoking are unclear. Response inhibition is a main deficit in addiction, is associated with relapse, and could therefore be a candidate target for mindfulness-based practices. The current study hence investigated the effects of a brief mindfulness-practice on response inhibition in smokers using behavioral and electroencephalography (EEG) measures. Fifty participants (33 females, mean age 20 years old) underwent a protocol of cigarette exposure to induce craving (cue-exposure) and were then randomly assigned to a group receiving mindfulness-instructions or control-instructions (for 15 minutes approximately). Immediately after this, they performed a smoking Go/NoGo task, while their brain activity was recorded. At the behavioral level, no group differences were observed. However, EEG analyses revealed a decrease in P3 amplitude during NoGo vs. Go trials in the mindfulness versus control group. The lower P3 amplitude might indicate less-effortful response inhibition after the mindfulness-practice, and suggest that enhanced response inhibition underlies observed positive effects of mindfulness on smoking behavior.
Highlights
Cigarette smoking is the largest preventable cause of death in the world and the costs associated with it correspond to more than $300 billion a year in the United States [1, 2]
The present study aimed to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying the effect of a brief mindfulness-based practice on response inhibition in cigarette smokers
To test the effects of a mindfulness-based practice on response inhibition in an addiction context, using EEG, we investigated the effects of a previously developed brief mindfulness intervention [10] on behavioral and neural responses on a Go/NoGo task in cigarette smokers [40]
Summary
Cigarette smoking is the largest preventable cause of death in the world and the costs associated with it correspond to more than $300 billion a year in the United States [1, 2]. Smokers realize that smoking carries health risks, quitting smoking is notoriously hard and may require several attempts [3]. Some recent studies suggest that mindfulness-based practices are as or more effective in treatment for smoking cessation than conventional behavioral treatments such as Freedom from Smoking treatment, cognitive-behavioral approaches or 12-step programs [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]. Mindfulness practices involve attending to present-moment experiences, with non-judgmental and non-reactive awareness to internal and external stimuli [12].
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