Suchttherapie 2011; 12 - PO46
DOI: 10.1055/s-0031-1284695

Orexin modulates attentional bias to smoking cues

A Richter 1, A Koopmann 1, C Dinter 1, C von der Goltz 1, F Kiefer 1
  • 1Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit, Mannheim

The neuropeptides ‘orexins’ (hypcretins) have been implicated in reward seeking and addictive diseases (Harris et al., 2005). In nicotine dependence, orexin plasma concentrations are negatively associated with intensity of tobacco craving during early withdrawal (von der Goltz et al., 2010). The aim of this study was to test the recent proposal that orexins may be involved in coordinating attention towards drugs of abuse (Fadel & Burk, 2010). 49 smokers and 39 non-smokers drawn from a larger study-cohort provided blood samples from which orexin plasma concentrations were determined. Participants’ tendencies to attend toward smoking-related relative to neutral cues were examined using the visual dot-probe task. The results of a multiple regression analysis (R2=.13; F(3,84)=4.16, p=.009) showed that smoking status (smokers vs. non-smokers) interacted significantly with orexin plasma concentration in the prediction of attentional bias (t=–2.70, p=.008, beta=–0.41). Specifically, lower orexin plasma concentrations were associated with greater tendencies to attend towards cigarette relative to neutral cues in smokers (r=.37; p=.008) but not in non-smokers (r=.17; p=.29). These results are consistent with an involvement of orexins in the modulation of attention towards nicotine-associated cues in smokers. The direction of the relationship is consistent with the idea that orexins interfere with dopaminergic transmission during early nicotine withdrawal (von der Goltz et al., 2010).

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