A recent laboratory study examined the independent and interactive effects of acute nicotine withdrawal and cigarette cues selleck on craving and cigarette demand (MacKillop et al., 2012). In this case, withdrawal was found to induce a significant increase in Breakpoint and Pmax and trend-level effects on Omax and Intensity, whereas cigarette cues elicited lower elasticity (greater price insensitivity) (MacKillop et al., 2012). Importantly, the associations between craving and the behavioral economic variables revealed largely independent relationships, suggesting that the demand indices are not simply collinear with craving. Although the application of behavioral economics to craving is promising and growing, there remain only a small number of studies to date.

The goal of this study was to extend the existing findings in a number of ways. First, in the previous experimental study, the design included a number of limitations. For example, all participants received one outcome from their choices on the purchase task to assess demand, but that measure had constraints based on the protocol that resulted in ceiling effects for some indices. In addition, the purchase task used in that study was the basis for cigarette access, creating a redundancy between the choices made and cigarette self-administration. In this study, the demand indices were distinct from a subsequent dual-component tobacco self-administration paradigm consisting of the opportunity to delay smoking and purchase cigarettes (Leeman et al., 2010; McKee, 2009).

This permitted us to examine the effects of cues on both domains and then examine those variables in relation to tobacco consumption. Second, this study sought to elaborate the smoking cues involved using a virtual reality (VR) environment. VR permits a greater diversity and more immersive stimulus environment to simulate a more complex and ecologically valid cue exposure experience relative to standard cue reactivity techniques. Most important, there is a robust literature indicating that the VR paradigm is highly effective for eliciting craving in smokers (Baumann & Sayette, 2006; Bordnick, Graap, Copp, Brooks, & Ferrer, 2005; Lee et al., 2003, 2004; Moon & Lee, 2009; Traylor, Bordnick, & Carter, 2008, 2009). The primary hypothesis of the study was that, relative to neutral cues, tobacco cues would significantly increase subjective tobacco craving and the relative value of cigarettes (i.

e., indices of tobacco demand). In addition, the study investigated the interrelationships between subjective craving and behavioral economic indices, both following the cue exposures and in relation to subsequent smoking behavior. Here, we hypothesized that the facets of the relative value of tobacco would be associated with craving, but not collinear, and would be independently significantly associated with subsequent smoking behavior. METHODS Participants Participants were 47 (61% male) current Batimastat smokers (mean cigarettes per day = 14.