Addiction Mindsets and Psychological Processes of Quitting Smoking

Background: Lay belief systems about the malleability of human attributes have been shown to impact behavior change in multiple domains. Addiction mindset—i.e., beliefs about the permanence (vs. malleability) of addiction — may affect cigarette smokers’ ability to quit, but this has never been examined. Objectives: The aims of the present research were to develop a measure of addiction mindset (study 1) and examine its associations with various psychological aspects of quitting smoking (study 2). Methods: In Study 1, using factor analysis of current smokers’ and nonsmokers’ (n?=?600) responses to 22 items designed to measure addiction mindset, we developed a reliable six-item Addiction Mindset Scale (AMS). In Study 2, adult smokers (n?=?200) completed the AMS, and measures of a number of psychological processes related to smoking. Results: Higher scores on the AMS, indicative of the belief that addiction is malleable (referred to as a growth mindset), were positively and significantly associated with greater motivation to quit, greater commitment to quitting, greater self-efficacy to abstain, less attribution of failure to lack of ability to change addiction, and fewer self-reported barriers to cessation (all p’s < .05). Conclusions: The results of this study show a relationship between the beliefs about the permanence of addiction and psychological processes relevant to quitting smoking. The findings underscore the potential of future research exploring how addiction mindsets relate to successful smoking cessation as well as other types of addictive behavior and how they can be applied to change people’s behavior.     

Topically injected adrenocorticotropic hormone induces mechanical hypersensitivity on a full‐thickness cutaneous wound model in rats

Cutaneous wound pain causes physical and psychological stress for patients with wounds. Previous studies reported that stress induces hyperalgesia and deteriorates wound healing. However, the effect of the stress response such as in hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis on local wound area is unclear. We aimed to investigate the effects of a stress response on the mechanical withdrawal threshold in the local wound area and describe the identification of a wound pain exacerbation. We topically injected adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) into the granulation tissue of full‐thickness cutaneous wound model rats on the fifth day postwounding and measured the mechanical withdrawal thresholds, cytochrome P450 2Bs levels and concentration of 5,6‐epoxyeicosatrienoic acid in wound exudate. We found that ACTH induced mechanical hypersensitivity at 4 and 6 hours after injection (P = .004 and .021, respectively), and increased gene expression of cytochrome P450 2B12 expression (P = .046). Concentration of 5,6‐EET in the wound exudate was moderately correlated with the mechanical withdrawal threshold (r = ?.630). Finally, the mechanical withdrawal threshold in the 5,6‐EET group was significantly lower than that in the control group at 2 hours after the injection (P = .015). We propose that 5,6‐EET is one of the most promising contributors to the wound pain exacerbation. These findings could guide clinical wound and pain management.     

Stochastic resonance with differential code in feedforward network with intra-layer random connections.

We examined stochastic resonance with a differential coding scheme using a multilayer feedforward neural network which is composed of intra-layer connections. We show that the network, with random synaptic connections in each layer, encodes an input signal into a spike coherence that represents temporal differences among the inputs. We also demonstrate that both internal and external noise enhance the detection of weak signals. Finally, we discuss how the feedforward network with intra-layer random connections is similar to a membrane in its sensitivity to and amplification of a change in stimulus and suggest that the intensity of internal noise may be tuned in a real brain.     

Myosin heavy chain composition of tongue muscle in microphthalmic (mi/mi) mice before and after weaning.

To elucidate the effects of teeth on muscle fibers in the tongue during the developmental process, we examined the expression of muscle contractile proteins and the genes for those proteins in normal mice and microphthalmic (mi/mi) mice with impaired tooth eruption. The mice were observed during the growth period, including weaning, which is when feeding movements undergo major changes. Expression of the myosin heavy chain (MyHC)-2a protein, whose contraction speed is relatively slow, disappeared after weaning in normal mice, while it remained in high concentrations even after weaning in mi/mi mice. The presence of MyHC-2a after weaning in mice with no tooth eruption was attributed to a compensation for lack of proper masticatory function and sucking-like movements, as MyHC-2a is necessary for these movements.     

Biodistributions of 201Tl in tumor bearing animals and inflammatory lesion induced animals

The accumulation of 201Tl in tumor and inflammatory tissues were small. However, this nuclide showed a high concentration in viable tumor tissue, less in connective tissue (containing inflammatory tissue), and was not seen in necrotic tumor tissue regardless of the time after administration of 201Tl(I)-chloride. In inflammatory lesions, 201Tl accumulated in subcutaneous tissue infiltrated with neutrophils and macrophages, and quite large amounts of this nuclide were accumulated in subcutaneous tissue and sites where neutrophils were crowded. Most 201Tl existed in a free form in the fluid of tumor and inflammatory tissues regardless of the time after administration. A small amount of this nuclide was localized in the nuclear, mitochondrial and microsomal fractions in these tissues, and the nuclide was bound to protein in these fractions. The distribution of 201Tl(III)-chloride in tumor bearing animals was essentially the same as that of 201Tl(I)-chloride.