Smoke signals: A study of the neurophysiological reaction of smokers and non-smokers to smoking cues inserted into antismoking public service announcements.

Bianca M S Inguscio, Giulia Cartocci, Enrica Modica, Dario Rossi, Ana C Martinez-Levy, Patrizia Cherubino, Luca Tamborra, Fabio Babiloni

International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology 2021 Sep

filter terms:

Tobacco addiction is one of the biggest health emergencies in the world, Antismoking Public Service Announcements (PSAs) represent the main public tool against smoking; however, smoking-related cues (SCs) often included in PSAs can trigger ambiguous cerebral reactions that could impact the persuasiveness and efficacy of the antismoking message. This study aimed to investigate the electroencephalographic (EEG) response in adult smokers and non-smokers during the exposure to SCs presented in antismoking PSAs video, in order to identify eventual neurophysiological features of SCs' 'boomerang effect' elicited in smokers. EEG frontal Alpha asymmetry and frontal Theta were analyzed in 92 adults (30 no smokers, 31 low smokers, 31 high smokers) from EEG recorded during the vision of 3 antismoking PSAs, statistical analysis was conducted using ANOVA. Main results showed a significant interaction between smoking cue condition (Pre and Post) and smoking habit (in particular for female heavy smokers) for the frontal Alpha asymmetry. Since the relative higher right frontal Alpha activity is associated with approach towards a stimulus, it is suggested that the relative left frontal Alpha increase in response to SCs might reflect an appetitive approach in response to it. In the light of the Incentive Sensitization Theory, this pattern can be interpreted as a neurophysiological signal in response to SCs that could undermine the message's effectiveness contributing to the maintenance of the addiction. Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Citation

Bianca M S Inguscio, Giulia Cartocci, Enrica Modica, Dario Rossi, Ana C Martinez-Levy, Patrizia Cherubino, Luca Tamborra, Fabio Babiloni. Smoke signals: A study of the neurophysiological reaction of smokers and non-smokers to smoking cues inserted into antismoking public service announcements. International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology. 2021 Sep;167:22-29