Acute administration of nicotine does not enhance cognitive functions

Scientific paper - Original scientific paper

• Title (croatian): Akutna primjena nikotina ne poboljšava kognitivne funkcije
• Author: Andrea Grus
• Author: Ivana Hromatko
• Author's institution: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of Psychology)
• Author's institution: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Croatian Studies; (Department of Psychology)
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: SOCIAL SCIENCES; Psychology

Abstract (english)

Abstract Chronic smokers often claim that smoking improves their cognitive abilities, such as concentration. However, scientific evidence to support this claim is scarce. Previous studies gave inconclusive results, and some of them had significant methodological flaws. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test whether smoking a single cigarette affects performance across several cognitive domains. It included a group of 22 occasional smokers aged 19–29 years. Attention, working memory, and visuospatial reasoning were assessed using a within-subjects design with a control setting. There were two separate testing sessions two days apart. Half the group started with experimental and the other half with control setting. In the experimental setting, the participants completed the first block of tasks, smoked one cigarette (with a nicotine yield of 0.5 mg), and then completed the second block of tasks. In the control setting, the procedure was the same, except that the participants had a glass of water instead of a cigarette. Repeated measures ANOVA showed no significant effects of cigarette smoking on either reaction time rates or accuracy on any of the three cognitive domains. These results suggest that, at least among young, occasional smokers, smoking does not affect cognition and the claims of its improvement are probably a result of some sort of cognitive bias.

Abstract (croatian)

Kronični pušači često tvrde da im pušenje, između ostaloga, pozitivno utječe na kognitivne sposobnosti (npr. pomaže im
u održavanju koncentracije). Je li doista tako još uvijek nemamo jednoznačan odgovor, budući da su prethodne studije
ne samo dale nekonzistentne rezultate nego su bile i metodološki manjkave. Stoga je cilj ovoga istraživanja bio utvrditi
utječe li konzumacija jedne cigarete na izvedbu zadataka u nekoliko različitih kognitivnih domena. U istraživanju je
sudjelovala skupina povremenih pušača u dobi od 19 do 29 godina. Pomoću računalnog programa E-Prime prezentirani
su zadaci koji mjere pažnju, radno pamćenje i obradu vidno-prostornih informacija. Korišten je prije-poslije nacrt, uz
kontrolni i eksperimentalni uvjet. Sudionici su iste zadatke rješavali četiri puta: prije i poslije tretmana u kontrolnom
uvjetu te prije i poslije tretmana u eksperimentalnom uvjetu. U kontrolnom uvjetu tretman se sastojao od čaše vode koju
su sudionici morali popiti, a u eksperimentalnom uvjetu od pušenja jedne cigarete koja otpušta 0,5 mg nikotina. Stanka
između kontrolnoga i eksperimentalnoga testiranja bila je dva dana. Redoslijed uvjeta bio je rotiran. Niti u jednom zadatku
nije utvrđen značajan utjecaj pušenja ni na vrijeme reakcije ni na točnost rješavanja. Ovi su nalazi u skladu s hipotezom
da su samoiskazi o pozitivnom utjecaju pušenja na kognitivnu učinkovitost posljedica neutemeljenih subjektivnih dojmova.

• Keywords (english): attention; mental rotation; nicotine; smoking; working memory
• Keywords (croatian): mentalne rotacije; nikotin; pažnja; pušenje; radno pamćenje
• Language: english
• Publication type: Scientific paper - Original scientific paper
• Publication status: Published
• Peer review: Peer review
• Publication version: Published version
• Journal title: Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology
• Numbering: vol. 70, no. 4, pp. 273-282
• e-ISSN: 1848-6312
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aiht-2019-70-3257
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:376491
• Publication: 2019-12-21
• Document URL: https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/aiht/70/4/article-p273.xml
• Type of resource: Text
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2020-01-09 09:43:40