Brief training in regulation of craving reduces cigarette smoking.

INTRODUCTION: Craving is an important contributing factor in cigarette smoking and has been added as a diagnostic criterion for addiction in the DSM-5. Cognitive-behavioral therapy and other treatments that incorporate craving regulation strategies reduce smoking and the likelihood of relapse. Although this finding suggests that the regulation of craving is an important mechanism underlying smoking cessation, whether targeted interventions that train smokers to regulate craving can directly impact real-world smoking behaviors is unclear. METHOD: Across two pilot studies (N = 33; N = 60), we tested whether a brief, computer-delivered training session in the cognitive regulation of craving altered subsequent smoking behaviors in daily life. The study first randomly assigned participants to either a no training (control) group, or one of two Regulation of Craving Training (ROC-T) conditions. Next, all participants came into the lab and those assigned to ROC-T conditions were trained to implement a cognitive strategy to regulate their craving, by either focusing on the negative consequences of smoking, or by distracting themselves. Then, these participants underwent ROC-T during which they practiced using the strategy to regulate their craving during cue exposure. The study subsequently assessed participants' smoking via daily diaries for 3-6 days, and via self-report up to 1-month follow-up. RESULTS: Across both studies, ROC-T conditions were associated with significant reductions in average cigarettes smoked per day, with effects persisting through follow-up. CONCLUSION: These results confirm that the regulation of craving is an important mechanism of smoking cessation, and can be targeted via easily administered training procedures, such as ROC-T.

Emotion Regulation and Immune Functioning During Grief: Testing the Role of Expressive Suppression and Cognitive Reappraisal in Inflammation Among Recently Bereaved Spouses.

OBJECTIVE: Losing a spouse is a distressing life event that can negatively affect both mental and physical health. Stress-induced health consequences often include increased risk of cardiovascular disease and altered immune system functioning marked by increased inflammation. Here, we sought to identify individual difference factors that covary with problematic inflammatory outcomes. METHOD: We measured recently bereaved spouses' (n = 99) propensity to use emotion regulation strategies and peripheral inflammation, as measured by levels of proinflammatory cytokines after ex vivo stimulation of peripheral leukocytes with T-cell agonists. Specifically, we measured participants' use of cognitive reappraisal, an adaptive emotion regulation strategy in many contexts, and expressive suppression, a less adaptive emotion regulation strategy that involves actively inhibiting emotions after already experiencing them. RESULTS: Bereaved spouses who self-reported frequently using expressive suppression as an emotion regulation strategy tended to have a more pronounced inflammatory response, as indexed by higher levels of a composite cytokine index consisting of interleukin (IL) 17A, IL-2, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor α, and interferon-γ (b = 0.042), as well as tumor necrosis factor α (b = 0.083) and interferon-γ (b = 0.098) when analyzed individually. Notably, these associations were observed in both unadjusted and adjusted models, with the latter including known covariates of inflammation and other potential confounding variables. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that bereaved spouses' use of emotion regulation strategies is associated with altered immune functioning, and such a link may be an important biological pathway by which interventions targeting affect may improve immune system-related health outcomes.

Boundary conditions of methamphetamine craving.

Methamphetamine use has increased significantly and become a global health concern. Craving is known to predict methamphetamine use and relapse following abstinence. Some have suggested that cravings are automatic, generalized, and uncontrollable, but experimental work addressing these claims is lacking. In 2 exploratory studies, we tested the boundary conditions of methamphetamine craving by asking: (a) is craving specific to users' preferred route of administration?, and (b) can craving be regulated by cognitive strategies? Two groups of methamphetamine users were recruited. In Study 1, participants were grouped by their preferred route of administration (intranasal vs. smoking), and rated their craving in response to photographs and movies depicting methamphetamine use (via the intranasal vs. smoking route). In Study 2, methamphetamine smokers implemented cognitive regulation strategies while viewing photographs depicting methamphetamine smoking. Strategies involved either focusing on the positive aspects of smoking methamphetamine or the negative consequences of doing so-the latter strategy based on treatment protocols for addiction. In Study 1, we found a significant interaction between group and route of administration, such that participants who preferred to smoke methamphetamine reported significantly stronger craving for smoking stimuli, whereas those who preferred the intranasal route reported stronger craving for intranasal stimuli. In Study 2, participants reported significantly lower craving when focusing on the negative consequences associated with methamphetamine use. Taken together, these findings suggest that strength of craving for methamphetamine is moderated by users' route of administration and can be reduced by cognitive strategies. This has important theoretical, methodological, and clinical implications.