Changes in behavioral and physiological activation induced by cigarette smoking in habitual smokers

Performance in tasks on visual simple- and choice-reaction time was studied in six healthy habitual smokers. Results from a non-smoking condition, and a condition in which each subject smoked four cigarettes, indicated that smoking had a beneficial effect on performance efficiency in both tasks: (a) simple-reaction time increased over time in the non-smoking condition, but remained at the same level in the smoking condition, and (b) choice-reaction time increased slightly in the non-smoking condition, and decreased in the smoking condition. The difference between conditions was statistically significant for simple-reaction time. Hand steadiness was impaired by smoking. Heart rate and systolic pressure increased in the smoking condition, while catecholamine secretion remained relatively unaffected by smoking. Self-estimates of wakefulness and mood showed that smoking was judged to have favourable effects.Financial support was obtained from the Swedish Medical Research Council (Project No. 14X-997), and the Swedish Council for Social Science Research. A group of students participated in the data collection: Gunbritt Bülow, Ulla Hilldoff, Karin Lagerberg, Jan-Eric Olsson and Lena Wedin. The catecholamine analyses were performed by Birgitta Linell.