Liu, W., Andrade, G., Schulze, J., Doran, N., & Courtney, K. E. (2022). Using Virtual Reality to Induce and Assess Objective Correlates of Nicotine Craving: Paradigm Development Study. JMIR Serious Games, 10(1), e32243. https://doi.org/10.2196/32243

Craving is a clinically important phenotype for the development and maintenance of nicotine addiction. Virtual reality (VR) paradigms are successful in eliciting cue-induced subjective craving and may even elicit stronger craving than traditional picture-cue methods. This report details the development of a novel, translatable VR paradigm designed to both elicit nicotine craving and assess multiple eye-related characteristics as potential objective correlates of craving. This report outlines the development of the NTP Cue VR paradigm. Our results support the potential of this paradigm as an effective laboratory-based cue-exposure task and provide early evidence of the utility of attentional bias and pupillometry, as measured during VR, as useful markers for nicotine addiction.

Reed, B. W., Doran, N., & Courtney, K. E. (2023). Associations between nicotine product use and craving among stable daily and non-daily users. Addictive Behaviors, 146, 107803. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107803

Nicotine craving typically develops shortly after last use and is conceptualized as essential to the development, maintenance, and treatment of nicotine dependence. We used negative binomial regression modeling to analyze the relationship between nicotine craving and use in two ways. Maximum craving was significantly and positively associated with nicotine product use while craving at the time of assessment was not. These associations did not differ depending on use frequency or on specific products used. Findings provide evidence that self-report ratings of craving are associated with greater nicotine and tobacco product use for both frequent and intermittent users. Furthermore, these results may be useful in developing or modifying interventions for a wide variety of nicotine users, including those who are not yet intending to make a change to their nicotine use.