Attentional Training for Smoking Cessation Via Handheld Device or Personal Computer

Attentional Training for Smoking Cessation Via Handheld Device or Personal Computer

Several studies indicate that cigarette smokers show an attentional bias for cigarette-related cues, meaning that they more quickly detect and attend to and have more difficulty disengaging in cigarette-related information than neutral information. This bias is associated with craving and relapse following attempts to quit. This experiment will examine whether a computerized attentional training procedure will successfully reduce attentional bias towards smoking cues and reduce craving in regular cigarette smokers. The attentional training will be administered in a novel format in which participants complete 5-minute long training sessions 3 times per day and can complete the trainings via home computer or handheld device such as the iPhone, Android phone, or iPod touch. A baseline assessment in the laboratory will measure attentional bias to smoking cues and craving following smoking cue exposure. Participants will then be randomly assigned to either the active training condition or a control condition. In both conditions, participants will be asked to complete brief training sessions 3 times daily for one week using their personal computer or handheld device. Following one week of training, participants will return to the lab for endpoint assessment of attentional bias and craving. The investigators hypothesize that compared to the control condition, the active training condition will significantly reduce attentional bias toward smoking related cues and cue-induced cigarette craving.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age 18-65.
2. Familiarity with a computer keyboard and mouse.
3. Must own a iPhone, iPod Touch, or Google Android-based phone (such as the Droid or Nexus One) or have regular access to the Internet via personal computer.
4. Current regular smoker, as defined by self-reported use of at least 1 year and a current average of at least 10 cigarettes smoked per day.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Individuals with current suicidality (determined by a score of 2 or 3 on item 9 of the Beck Depression Inventory given following consent) will be excluded from further participation.