Vaping and Smoking Cue Reactivity in Young Adult Nonsmoking Electronic Cigarette Users: A Functional Neuroimaging Study
The escalating vaping prevalence among US nonsmoking young adults is alarming, due to its potential ramifications for nicotine addiction development. Nicotine addiction is characterized by elevated neural response to conditioned nicotine-related cues. Using functional neuroimaging, we showed that young adult nonsmoking vapers exhibited heightened neural susceptibility to both vaping and smoking cues within brain systems previously associated with cue reactivity. Such cross-reactivity to both types of nicotine cues may serve as the mechanism underlying nicotine addiction and smoking initiation risk in this population. Our findings may contribute to the development of science-based interventions and regulatory measures addressing the vaping epidemic.
Authors
- Zhenhao Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5697-2034)
- Jessica L. Fabbricatore
- Yidi Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2384-3812)
- Jiaying Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8461-0954)
- Erin Jones (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9491-7762)
- Allison Worsdale (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3187-7377)
- Joshua T. McMains (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3033-5560)
- Lawrence H. Sweet
Institutions
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte (US)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- University of California, Santa Barbara (US)
- University of Georgia (US)
- James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital (US)
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nicotine & Tobacco Research
- Published
- 2024-10-31
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntae257
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Smoking Behavior and Cessation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.98
Funders
- Brain and Behavior Research Foundation
- University of Georgia
- Owens Institute for Behavioral Research
- National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
- National Institutes of Health