The effects of nicotine dependence and acute abstinence on the processing of drug and non-drug rewards

Rationale Drug addiction may be characterised by a hypersensitivity to drug rewards and a hyposensitivity to non-drug rewards. This imbalance may become further polarised during acute abstinence. Objectives (i) Examine the differences between dependent and occasional smokers in choices for, motivation for and self-reported wanting and liking of cigarette and non-drug rewards. (ii) Examine the effects of 12-h nicotine abstinence on these metrics. Methods Dependent ( n = 20) and occasional, non-dependent smokers ( n = 20) were tested after ad libitum smoking and ≥12-h of nicotine abstinence. A novel task was developed (Drug, Reward and Motivation–Choice (DReaM-Choice)) in which different rewards (cigarettes, music and chocolate) could be won. In each trial, participants chose between two rewards and then could earn the chosen reward via repeated button-pressing. Participants subsequently ‘consumed’ and rated subjective liking of the rewards they had won. Results Compared with occasional smokers, dependent smokers made more choices for ( p