Nicotine Withdrawal's Effect on Mood

Paul Clark, a smoker, hasn't had a cigarette for 12 hours.

It's now 11 a.m. In his nicotine-deprived state, he steps into the Tobacco Research and Treatment Laboratory at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and sits quietly as a research assistant attaches electrodes to his head and hands to measure his response to smoking and nonsmoking-related pictures. His laboratory visit also includes measuring the level of carbon monoxide in his lungs, and filling out questionnaires about his mood and anxiety level and genetic background.

A new study at M.D. Anderson, titled Psychophysiological Examination of the Emotional Responses of Smokers, or PEERS, is measuring how smoking and nicotine withdrawal affect mood in smokers, some who may have inherited a susceptibility to nicotine addiction. The National Cancer Institute is funding the two-year, $260,000 study.

Clark comes from a family of smokers, which may indicate a hereditary predisposition to smoking, according to researchers.

"Understanding the relationship between genetic factors and mood and the effects of nicotine on mood may help us ultimately develop more effective tobacco-cessation programs," says Dr. Paul M. Cinciripini, director of the Tobacco Research and Treatment Program at M.D. Anderson and principal investigator of the study.

Previous research has shown a possible hereditary component to nicotine addiction, in that some smokers receive more pleasure from nicotine than others because of changes in the level of the brain chemical dopamine. For this reason, some smokers are able to quit "cold turkey," and others have a more difficult time quitting.

PEERS researchers are measuring exactly how nicotine withdrawal affects mood in smokers with and without a hereditary susceptibility to smoking.

Smokers who volunteer for the study view pleasurable, aversive and smoking-related pictures, including images of burn victims and sexual images, while their physical response to each is measured in a nicotine-deprived state.

"We record participants' physiologic responses to the pictures, including eye-blink, frown, smile and palm perspiration," Dr. Cinciripini says.

Other tobacco-cessation studies under way at M.D. Anderson include:

• Computer-assisted Smoking Cessation: Determining the effectiveness of combining several smoking cessation treatments (scheduled smoking, nicotine patches and use of a hand-held computer) to learn which combination of treatments is best to help smokers kick the habit.
• Smoking Cessation for Community College Students: Helping smokers better understand their level of nicotine dependence, and heightening smokers' awareness of the dangers of tobacco, ultimately helping smokers plan the most effective method to quit.
• Project STOP: Testing the effectiveness of a new treatment program, including the nicotine patch, self-help materials and counseling, to help smokers quit and stay off cigarettes forever.

---

©2006 Texas Medical Center

---

E-Mail: tmcinfo@texmedctr.tmc.edu
URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/02_15_01/page_11.html