Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7818-2560

Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Mariya Cherkasova

Committee Member

Melissa Blank

Committee Member

Julie Brefczynski-Lewis

Abstract

Polina Krom

Cue reactivity is an important predictor of addiction course and relapse. However, cue reactivity is only observed after an addiction develops. As such, it is unclear to what degree cue reactivity represents a state stemming from the addiction process versus a trait-like propensity towards developing cue-reward associations. Work in animal models has pointed to important individual differences in trait-like inclination to attribute incentive salience to reward-predictive cues that is associated with addiction-relevant behavioral and neurobiological features. These individual differences manifest as sign-tracking (ST) and goal-tracking (GT) behaviors during Pavlovian conditioning. Little research has attempted to translate ST and GT phenotypes to humans or relate them to cue reactivity in addictive disorders. The current study examined electronic cigarette (ECIG) cue reactivity in human participants as a function of a tendency to sign-track. Regular ECIG users were characterized in terms of their sign-/ goal-tracking propensity based on a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm accompanied by eye-tracking and were exposed to two different cue types: ECIG cues (e.g., devices, vape clouds) and neutral cues (water) in separate testing sessions. Our analysis focused on tendencies for sign-tracking / goal-tracking in relation to ECIG cue reactivity, measured as cue-induced cravings and neural responses captured through electroencephalography (EEG). The study found that participants with a higher gaze index, indicating a stronger tendency for sign-tracking, reported increased cravings (assessed by the Schuh-Stitzer questionnaire) in response to ECIG cues compared to neutral cues, consistent with our hypothesis. This finding was only significant in the analyses removing influential observations. Some trend-level effects also pointed to a possibility that contrary to our hypothesis participants with a greater sign-tracking propensity tended to have higher EEG amplitudes in response to neutral cues and lower amplitudes in response to ECIG cues in P300 and LPP components. It is important to note that the data collection is incomplete, and these results may change. Future research could explore alternative measures for sign- and goal-tracking tendencies and tailor ECIG cue stimuli to participants' specific devices.

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