Neural correlates of performance monitoring in daily and intermittent smokers

Abstract

Objectives: Despite efforts that have increased smoking regulation, cigarette taxation, and social stigma, cigarette smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death worldwide, and a significant personal and public economic burden. In the U.S., intermittent smokers comprise approximately 22% of all smokers and represent a stable, non-dependent group that may possess protective factors that prevent the transition to dependence. One possibility is that intermittent smokers have intact CNS frontal regulatory and control mechanisms that enable resistance to nicotine-induced changes.

Methods: The present study measured inhibitory control using a flanker task and a go-nogo continuous performance tasks in daily dependent smokers, intermittent non-dependent smokers, and nonsmokers. Event-related potential (ERP) measures of were concurrently recorded to measure performance monitoring via Event-Related Negativity (ERN) and error positivity (Pe) components during error trials for each task.

Results: In both tasks, behavioral and ERN measures did not differ between groups; however, amplitude of the Pe component was largest among intermittent smokers.

Conclusions: Thus, intermittent smokers differed from both daily smokers and nonsmokers on error processing, potentially revealing neuroprotective cognitive processes in nicotine dependence.

Significance: A better understanding of factors that mediate behavioral regulation may provide novel treatment approaches that help individuals achieve controlled smoking or cessation.

Keywords: Error-related negativity; Event-related potentials; Performance monitoring; Smoking; Substance dependence.

Copyright © 2013 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Figures

Figure 1

Schematic of the stimulus display during the Eriksen Flanker Task (A) and Go/No-go Continuous Performance Task (B). For the Flanker Task, each trial began with a fixation asterisk followed by a congruent (50%) or incongruent (50%) letter string. Participants were allotted 800 ms for keypress response using dominant hand, after which feedback was presented. For the Go/No-go task, each trial began with a fixation asterisk followed by a letter stimulus. Participants were allotted 800 ms to respond. No feedback was provided between trials.

Figure 2

Response-locked grand average ERP activity during error trials of the Eriksen Flanker Task for nonsmokers (light gray line), intermittent smokers (dark gray line), and daily smokers (black line).

Figure 3

Response-locked grand average ERP activity during error trials of the Go/No-go Continuous Performance Task for nonsmokers (light gray line), intermittent smokers (dark gray line), and daily smokers (black line).

Figure 4

Response-locked grand averages of ERP waveforms during error trials of the Eriksen Flanker Task (top) and Go/No-go Continuous Performance Task (bottom) for nonsmokers (light gray line), intermittent smokers (dark gray line), and daily smokers (black line) at the Cz electrode site.

Figure 5

Peak to peak measures of the ERN and Pe ERP components at the Cz electrode site during incorrect trials of the Eriksen Flanker (top) and Go/No-go Continuous Performance (bottom) tasks for nonsmokers (light gray), intermittent smokers (dark gray), and daily smokers (black). Error bars represent ±1 standard error. The following symbols represent significance: *p < .05, **p < .01.