EEG correlates of imagery-induced cigarette craving in male and female smokers

Functional neuroimaging studies of cue-elicited craving in smokers have identified a distributed system of brain activation which includes the frontal cortex. As electroencephalographic (EEG) activity recorded from frontal brain regions indexes emotive functions, which are believed to play a key role in craving processes, this study examined frontal EEG in 20 cigarette smokers (10 male) exposed to imagery scripts containing positive, negative, or neutral affective content with and without descriptions of smoking urges. Urge scripts increased subjective cravings related to both the rewarding and withdrawal-relief properties of smoking, the latter tending to be greater in female smokers, as were self-reports of frustration. The emotional content of scripts did not moderate urges or EEG but urge scripts were found to: a) decrease activity of delta in male smokers and to increase activity of beta, a pattern which has also been seen with acute smoking, and b) increase activity of theta, a response which has also been seen with smoking abstinence. This imagery-elicited neuroelectric profile, appearing to reflect opposing actions of reward and withdrawal, suggests that EEG may be a sensitive tool for probing the multidimensional nature of craving.