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Cerebral Cortex Advance Access published online on December 10, 2008
Cerebral Cortex, doi:10.1093/cercor/bhn226
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Published by Oxford University Press 2008.

Performance Effects of Nicotine during Selective Attention, Divided Attention, and Simple Stimulus Detection: An fMRI Study

Britta Hahn1,3, Thomas J. Ross1, Frank A. Wolkenberg1, Diaa M. Shakleya2, Marilyn A. Huestis2 and Elliot A. Stein1

1 Neuroimaging Research Branch, 2 Chemistry and Drug Metabolism Section, NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse—Intramural Research Program (IRP), Biomedical Research Center, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA, 3 Current address: Britta Hahn, Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, PO Box 21247, Baltimore, MD 21228, USA

Address correspondence to email: bhahn{at}mprc.umaryland.edu.

Attention-enhancing effects of nicotine appear to depend on the nature of the attentional function. Underlying neuroanatomical mechanisms, too, may vary depending on the function modulated. This functional magnetic resonance imaging study recorded blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) activity in minimally deprived smokers during tasks of simple stimulus detection, selective attention, or divided attention after single-blind application of a transdermal nicotine (21 mg) or placebo patch. Smokers’ performance in the placebo condition was unimpaired as compared with matched nonsmokers. Nicotine reduced reaction time (RT) in the stimulus detection and selective attention but not divided attention condition. Across all task conditions, nicotine reduced activation in frontal, temporal, thalamic, and visual regions and enhanced deactivation in so-called "default" regions. Thalamic effects correlated with RT reduction selectively during stimulus detection. An interaction with task condition was observed in middle and superior frontal gyri, where nicotine reduced activation only during stimulus detection. A visuomotor control experiment provided evidence against nonspecific effects of nicotine. In conclusion, although prefrontal activity partly displayed differential modulation by nicotine, most BOLD effects were identical across tasks, despite differential performance effects, suggesting that common neuronal mechanisms can selectively benefit different attentional functions. Overall, the effects of nicotine may be explained by increased functional efficiency and downregulated task-independent "default" functions.

Key Words: deactivation • default • fMRI • reaction time • skin patch • smokers


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