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AIMS: Nicotine is known to enhance aspects of cognitive functioning in abstinent smokers, but the effects on specific areas of executive functions and in non-smokers are inconclusive. This may be due in part to the poor sensitivity of tests used to assess executive functions. This study used a new virtual reality assessment of executive functions known as JEF (the Jansari assessment of Executive Functions) to address this issue. DESIGN: A 2 × 2 design manipulating group (smokers and never-smokers) and drug nicotine (4 mg for smokers; 2 mg for never smokers) versus placebo gum. SETTING: School of Psychology; University of East London. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-two participants (aged 18-54 years): 36 minimally deprived (2 hours) smokers and 36 never-smokers. MEASUREMENTS: Components of executive function were measured using the virtual reality paradigm JEF, which assesses eight cognitive constructs simultaneously as well as providing an overall performance measure. FINDINGS: Univariate analyses of variance revealed that nicotine improved overall JEF performance, time-based prospective memory and event-based prospective memory in smokers (P < 0.01), but not in never-smokers. Action-based prospective memory was enhanced in both groups (P < 0.01) and never-smokers out-performed smokers on selective thinking and adaptive thinking (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Executive functioning and prospective memory as aspects of cognitive performance can be enhanced by nicotine gum in smokers who have abstained for as little as 2 hours.
Jansari et al. (Mon,) studied this question.