The Association Between Reward Processing and Nicotine Initiation in Youth

College of Letters & Science, Lisdahl, Krista, Mentor, Poster Presentation, Psychology, School and College, Student, Wampfler, Abigail

Abigail Wampfler, “The Association Between Reward Processing and Nicotine Initiation in Youth”
Mentor: Krista Lisdahl, Psychology
Poster #97

22% of pre-adolescents and adolescents report lifetime nicotine use. Research suggests that differences associated with reward processing, may influence adolescent nicotine use. Current theories propose that heightened anticipatory reward-related activity in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) increases the likelihood of adolescent nicotine use. However, current research is confounded due to variations in participant substance use exposure. This study investigated whether activation in the NAcc prior to substance initiation predicts nicotine use in adolescents utilizing data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study cohort. The Monetary Incentive Delay Task (MID) was used to assess youth reward processing, focusing on the left and right NAcc as regions of interest (ROI). The Timeline Follow-back (TLFB) was used to assess nicotine use among youth at four different time points (from ages 9-13). If participants reported more than one puff or use of a nicotine product at any time point, they were classified as nicotine initiators (initiator vs. non-initiator). A logistic regression was conducted, utilizing baseline activation in the ROI as predictors and the initiator group as the dichotomous outcome. Common factors associated with nicotine use, such as internalizing and externalizing symptoms, curiosity about drugs, access to drugs, family rules about substance use, and parental substance use, were controlled. Results indicated that the overall model was statistically significant (χ2(9) = 17.313, df = 9, p < 0.0001), explaining approximately 24.42% of the variance in adolescent nicotine use. Adolescents with higher levels of externalizing behavior, easier access to nicotine products, more lenient smoking rules, parental history of drug use, and greater curiosity about nicotine had higher odds of initiating nicotine use. No significant associations were observed for internalizing behaviors, fMRI BOLD response in the left or right NAcc, peer use, or problematic parental alcohol use. These results highlight ways environmental factors influence early adolescent nicotine use.