Low-Theta Electroencephalography Coherence Predicts Cigarette Craving in Nicotine Addiction

In this study, we investigated the EEG coherence basis of smoking cue reactivity using the classical smoking cue reactivity task. First, we found increased coherence in the low-theta EEG network in the frontal-partial regions during smoking cue reactivity. Second, this low-theta coherence network was significantly associated with changes in cigarette craving. Finally, an external validation in an independent group of participants revealed that the average coherence of the low-theta network significantly predicted the change in cigarette craving.In current study, nicotine-dependent individuals showed increased low-theta coherence during smoking cue reactivity when compared with nonsmokers. Our current findings build on these past studies by identifying some of the brain networks involved in smoking cue reactivity. Previous ERP and EEG oscillation studies revealed that smoking cue tend to elicit reactivity around the period between 300 and 800 ms after the cue appears (12), indicating that it is a relatively fast process. Our findings were well in line with the past studies, suggesting an early attentional deployment (arising between 400 and 600 ms reflected on low-theta band) on smoking cue. In addition, the frontal–parietal region connection (>10 cm) of the observed coherence network appears to be in line with the findings of a previous fMRI study showing that smoking cue reactivity was associated with the connectivity of the anterior cingulate ...
Source: Frontiers in Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research