Examining differences in attentional bias to smoking-related cues among black and white cigarette smokers: An event-related potential pilot study

• Published in: Neuroscience letters 2020-09, Vol.735, p.135241-135241, Article 135241
• Main Authors: Ruglass, Lesia M., Root, James C., Dambreville, Naomi, Shevorykin, Alina, Sheffer, Christine E., Melara, Robert D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Attentional bias; Attentional Bias - physiology; Black People - psychology; Cigarette smokers; Cigarette Smoking - psychology; Cue reactivity; Cues; Event-related potential; Evoked Potentials - physiology; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Photic Stimulation - methods; Pilot Projects; Reaction Time - physiology; Smokers - psychology; White People - psychology
• ISSN: 0304-3940; 1872-7972
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2020.135241

•We examined attentional bias to tobacco cues among Black and White smokers.•We recorded ERPs while smokers completed an attention task with tobacco cues.•Tobacco cues yielded the largest congruity effect in Whites, but smallest in Blacks.•Whites showed weaker P1 and P2 amplitudes to tobacco cues relative to Blacks.•There may be a stronger draw in attention from tobacco cues in Whites than Blacks. Black cigarette smokers experience higher craving, lower cessation rates, and increased health complications from tobacco use than Whites. We examined psychophysiological and behavioral differences in attentional bias to smoking cues between Black and White smokers. Thirty-one participants (Blacks, n = 20; MAge = 45 and Whites, n = 11, MAge = 47.64) discriminated line orientations while ignoring temporally flanking lines and smoking-related, positive-, negative-, and neutral-images as behavioral responses and event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded. Results revealed a three-way interaction in reaction time among Group (White, Black), Congruity (congruent vs. incongruent flankers) and Cue (smoking-related, positive, negative) factors, F(2,58) = 3.63, p = .03, MSe = .001, η2 = .002. Smoking-related cues yielded the largest congruity effects in Whites, but the smallest congruity effects in Blacks. Random presentation of smoking-related cues (re: baseline) weakened P1 ERP amplitude (125 ms after stimulus onset) in Whites, but not Blacks (Cue x Group x Task, F(3,87) = 3.44, p