Eliciting nicotine craving with virtual smoking cues

Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2014 Aug;17(8):556-61. doi: 10.1089/cyber.2013.0329. Epub 2014 Mar 24.

Abstract

Craving is a strong desire to consume that emerges in every case of substance addiction. Previous studies have shown that eliciting craving with an exposure cues protocol can be a useful option for the treatment of nicotine dependence. Thus, the main goal of this study was to develop a virtual platform in order to induce craving in smokers. Fifty-five undergraduate students were randomly assigned to two different virtual environments: high arousal contextual cues and low arousal contextual cues scenarios (17 smokers with low nicotine dependency were excluded). An eye-tracker system was used to evaluate attention toward these cues. Eye fixation on smoking-related cues differed between smokers and nonsmokers, indicating that smokers focused more often on smoking-related cues than nonsmokers. Self-reports of craving are in agreement with these results and suggest a significant increase in craving after exposure to smoking cues. In sum, these data support the use of virtual environments for eliciting craving.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Cues*
  • Eye Movements
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Nicotine / administration & dosage*
  • Smoking / psychology*
  • Students
  • Tobacco Use Disorder
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Nicotine