Mechanisms of attention to conditioned stimuli predictive of a cigarette outcome.
Behav Brain Res
; 232(1): 183-9, 2012 Jun 15.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-22521410
ABSTRACT
Attention to stimuli associated with a rewarding outcome may be mediated by the incentive motivational properties that the stimulus acquires during conditioning. Other theories of attention state that the prediction error (the discrepancy between the expected and the actual outcome) during conditioning guides attention; once the outcome is fully predicted, attention should be abolished for the conditioned stimulus. The current study examined which of these mechanisms is dominant in conditioning when the outcome is highly rewarding. Allocation of attention to stimuli associated with cigarettes (the rewarding outcome) was tested in 16 smokers, who underwent a classical conditioning paradigm, where abstract visual stimuli were paired with a tobacco outcome. Stimuli were associated with 100% (stimulus A), 50% (stimulus B), or 0% (stimulus C) probability of receiving tobacco. Attention was measured using an eye-tracker device, and the appetitive value of the stimuli was measured with subjective pleasantness ratings during the conditioning process. Dwell time bias (duration of eye gaze) was greatest overall for the A stimulus, and increased over conditioning. Attention to stimulus A was dependent on the ratings of pleasantness that the stimulus evoked, and on the desire to smoke. These findings appear to support the theory that attention for conditioned stimuli is dominated by the incentive motivational qualities of the outcome they predict, and implicate a role for attention in the maintenance of addictive behaviours like smoking.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Atenção
/
Fumar
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Condicionamento Clássico
/
Motivação
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Humans
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Male
/
Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Behav Brain Res
Ano de publicação:
2012
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Reino Unido