Unconscious effects of addiction-specific attentional bias and the wanting-liking imbalance in smoking: a visual mismatch negativity study.

introductionCognitive theories of addiction highlight attentional bias as a key factor in the development and maintenance of addictive behaviors. According to Incentive Sensitization Theory (IST), repeated substance exposure sensitizes the brain's reward system, increasing the salience of substance-related cues and producing attentional bias that operates automatically, beyond conscious control. This study investigated (1) automatic change detection, indexed by the visual mismatch negativity (vMMN)  electroencephalography (EEG) component, in smokers (N = 20) and non-smokers (N = 20), and (2) the relationship between self-reported wanting and liking in smokers and its association with vMMN.

methodsEEG was recorded while participants completed a primary task. Peripheral, task unrelated stimuli were presented in smoking-related and neutral conditions. Smokers also completed the Imaginative Wanting and Liking Questionnaire and were assessed for nicotine dependence.

resultsIn smokers, a posterior vMMN response was observed between 147 and 188 ms in the smoking-related condition, but not in the neutral condition or in non-smokers. Additionally, vMMN amplitude was negatively correlated with the difference between self-reported wanting and liking.

conclusionsThese findings support IST by showing that attentional bias toward substance related cues can influence early, automatic cognitive processing. The vMMN results suggest that this bias extends beyond the focus of conscious attention. Moreover, the correlation between vMMN and self-reported wanting-liking discrepancy highlights the potential of subjective measures to reflect IST-relevant mechanisms. This offers promising implications for future research, treatment development, and intervention strategies targeting early attentional processes in nicotine addiction. IMPLICATIONS: The results suggest that the well-documented attentional bias in nicotine dependence emerges at early stages of visual processing and is elicited by stimuli presented outside the focus of attention. This indicates a highly automatic neural response to smoking-related cues, supporting the view that attentional bias in addiction operates independently of conscious control. The presence of a smoking-related vMMN suggests that neural indices may capture more fundamental and preconscious aspects of attentional bias than traditional behavioral measures, highlighting their potential utility in advancing both theoretical models and intervention strategies targeting automatic cognitive processes in nicotine addiction.