Smoking And Cognitive Functions

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Smoking and cognitive functions

Cigarette smoking is a common lifestyle across the world. According to WHO (World Health

Organization), more than 1.1 billion people smoked cigarette by 2015 (1). The prevalence of

the habit is increasing in the Eastern Mediterranean and Africa region. The most active and

potent component of Tobacco, nicotine, stimulates the Central Nervous System (CNS) so that

the user becomes more alert of internal and external stimuli. Nicotine affects brain receptors

that support cognitive functions like decision making, memory and attention (Bashir et al 3).

Heishman et al (4) notes that nicotine supports the release of transmitters such as dopamine

and acetylcholine involved in the cognition functions. As a result, tobacco addicts have

disordered cognition since the regions in the brain involved in addiction overlap with those

involved in cognitive functions such as attention, reasoning, impulse control and memory.

Withdrawal from cigarette leads to deficits in working memory, problematic learning and

poor attention (Gould 6). To ameliorate cognitive deficits of withdrawal, victims use tobacco.

However, nicotine only enhances the performance of chronic users struggling with cognitive

deficits after withdrawal and does not improve cognition of non-smokers. Compared to

healthy non-smokers, prolonged use of nicotine leads to poor performance in heavy cognitive

abilities and may lead to wrong interpretation of reality.

Prolonged cigarette smoking contributes to poor cognitive abilities. Cognition refers

to the mental process of awareness, judgement and perception (Brandimonte et al. 3). This

process involves functions like attention, perception, retention, decision making, planning,

problem solving and execution of actions. Cognition is the process by which individuals

become acquainted and get knowledge of internal and external input. According to Gould,

drug addiction like chronic smoking can persist after long periods of abstinence (2).

Gouldfurther notes that drugs interfere with normal brain processes and structures on region

involved in cognitive functions, leading to acquisition of maladaptive behaviour. Patients

undergoing treatment for an addiction are at risk of relapse when they go back to the context

where addiction begun (See, 140). According to Franklin et al (5), physiological responses

are associated with cues of drug abuse, which explains why cigarette smokers develop

cognitive deficits after withdrawal from tobacco usage. Thus, the reduced cognitive

performance has after withdrawal been taken as justification for nicotine addicts to continue

the lifestyle of smoking.

For chronic smokers, nicotine improves concentration and increases performance.

Some of the nicotine withdrawal symptoms include impaired performance and concentration

difficulties. These difficulties, according to Heishma, Stephen, Richard and Jack (2), can be

undone by returning to the habit of cigarette smoking or other types of nicotine

administration. Hatsukami et al. notes that the difficulties of cognitive performance after

withdrawal are manifested within 4 to 12 hours of abstinence (4). A research by Waller and

Levanter with 38 male smokers deprived participant’s tobacco for two hours. The participants

were then given 1.4 mg of nicotine to smoke three puffs per minute with five trials. The

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observers then measured the sensory skills of the moderate smokers using interactive and

forced-choice tasks. Their findings showed that critical flicker frequency (CFF) improve

when participants were smoking (1). A study by Leigh to determine the effects of nicotine of

sensory skills used two experiments with 8 males’ smokers. In the first experiment,

participants were denied tobacco overnight. They were given six cigarettes with 0.1 and 1.2

mg of nicotine in a 90 minutes session. In the first experiment, smoking alone improved

sensitivity but did not affect response. In the second experiment, smoking alone increased

sensory skills while smoking in combination with alcohol reduced sensory abilities. The

findings show the ability of nicotine to restore an individual to a normal-drug dependent

condition and do not reflect an absolute enhancement of cognitive performance.

Research indicates that nicotine improves retention of information for smokers

struggling with withdrawal symptoms. In a study to determine the effects of nicotine on

memory, Peek and Peeke (1) found that storage of words in two hours of deprived smokers

improved after learning. In different study involving cigarettes with low and high nicotine,

the cigarette with high nicotine resulted to improved recall of words while the low nicotine

cigarette was less effectively in recall. In harmony with these findings, Warburton found

confirmation of improved recall when the test was administered once (4). When the

participants smoked 1.4 mg of cigarette at an average of nine puffs in 38 seconds, the

participants were given a list of 48 words and asked to note as many of them as they could

recall. The results confirmed improved memory after smoking (6). In a diferent study to

understand the effects of nicotine on short and long term recall, Warburton used 1.5 mg of

nicotine where smoker were denied cigarette for more than ten hours. The participants were

then asked to listen to 48 words. Just as the researcher hypothesised, immediate recall was

improved. The participants were then introduced to nicotine and asked to recall words in a

recall test lasting for ten minutes. The study found that long term recall improved when

participants used nicotine before learning (6). Mangan’s study one the effects of low and

middle nicotine showed that smoking helps in information retention and improvement during

learning results from smoking on long term memory and not short term memory. These

findings suggest that cigarette smoking has appositive effect on cognition ability for nicotine-

deprived individuals.

Research has shown that the habit poses serious cognition problems to non-smokers.

A study by Ernst et al. (1) found that prolonged exposure to nicotine leads to poor working

memory. Their findings revealed decreased memory impairment in smokers who were less

exposed to nicotine and incomplete remission of effects of memory loss after abstinence or a

long time. However, their study could not distinguish between memory deficits before

prolonged exposure to nicotine from those that may be caused by chronic cigarette smoking.

Contrary to these findings, Warburton (3) argues that it is sensible to define nicotine as an

enhancer of cognitive functions. Improvement of memory performance in humans and

animals as a result of exposure to nicotine has been suggested by several researchers

(Attaway et al. 1; Perkins et al. 1994 1). A study by Anderson, Karin and Hockey in 1977

revealed that smoking has a positive effect in information storage. However, as Warburton

notes, the improvement storage of information is only for selected knowledge and smokers

may only be efficient at selecting relevant information (6). Also, the improvement of memory

is only applicable to nicotine-dependent users.

In comparison to non-smokers, prolonged smoking can lead to poor cognitive

abilities. A study on the relationship between cigarette smoking and cognitive functioning

healthy Swedish adults by Hill (1) found that smokers have poor cognition abilities than non-

smokers on tasks that require challenging cognition such as free recall and Block Design. The

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study concluded that the greatest effects of nicotine may be placed on cognitive task that have

the highest demand on processing. The participants were healthy adults between 35 and 80

years. The data contained 438 never-smokers and 164 smokers; those who had abstained

were not included. Using two cognitively demanding tasks, Block design and Free Recall,

the study found that cigarette smokers have poor cognition ability when compared to people

who have never smoked (2). In support of these findings, Bashir at al. (1) found that in

comparison to the control group, smokers showed cognitive deficit in attention switching

tasks and pattern recognition memory. Using healthy male participants aged between 18 to 29

years, the study found that cognition difference was highest for attention, memory tasks and

reaction. Another study comparing cognitive abilities between smokers and non-smokers

found no significant cognitive differences (Karishma et al. 2). Seven of the non-smokers and

four of smoker scored 28 and 29 and only one non-smoker scored full marks. The results

show that cigarette smoking does not give smokers cognitive advantages over non-smokers.

Smoking and craving for cigarette results to poor perceptions of reality. Vohs and

Scheimechel (219) state that craving for cigarette leads to narrow attention such that the

person’s feelings, impulses and desires are given more attention and at the expense of future

goals, plans and ambitions. A study by Klein et al. (12) found that deprived smokers perceive

time to pass more slowly than non-deprived smokers. Their perceived duration of time tends

to be longer than actual time. Most smokers have a skewed interpretation of the reality of

time; they tend to underestimate time duration. Additionally, increased perception of time

when the smoker requires self-regulation leads to low capacity for self-regulation on tasks

ahead (Vohs and Scheimechel 7). In a study by Sayette et al. (5), the degree to which smokers

craving for cigarette would correctly tell the time of the experience was investigated. The

researcher hypothesised that smokers with craving for cigarette expected their desires to

increase in a span of 45 minutes if not met. Their study revealed that smokers overestimate

the duration and degree of their future desire for smoking. In relation to poor perception of

reality, Sayette et al (5) found sufficient evidence that a strong craving for cigarette affects

how knowledge related to smoking is interpreted. Deprived smokers found the positive

outcome of smoking to be much higher than the negative effects.

Current literature reveals that prolonged cigarette smoking affects cognitive functions

of the user. Nicotine in cigarette affects regions of the brain involved in cognition process

such that users become more alert and aware of internal and external stimuli. Nicotine-

dependent smokers have altered cognitive structure and processes in memory, attention and

learning. These deficits become increasingly problematic when the victims are deprived of

nicotine. To help cope with withdrawal symptoms, users use nicotine to improve memory,

attention and learning process. However, current study shows that cigarette smokers have not

better cognitive abilities than non-users. Most of the available literature indicates that there is

no significant difference in the cognition skills between smokers and non-smokers. In fact,

some studies have brought evidence that non-smokers have better performance in heavy

cognition tasks than smokers.

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Works cited

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learning and memory: A neuropsychological assessment inyoung and senescent

fischer 344 rats." Physiology &behavior 67.3 (1999)

Bashir, Shahid, et al. "Effect of Smoking on Cognitive Functioning in Young Saudi

Adults." Medical science monitor basic research 23 (2017)

Brandimonte, Maria A., Nicola Bruno, and SimonaCollina. "In P. Pawlik and G. d’Ydewalle

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Karishma Rajbhandari et al. “Effect of Smoking in Cognition”. Journal of pulmonary and

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Klein, Ronald, et al. "The Beaver Dam Eye Study: the relation of age-related maculopathy to

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Peeke, Shirley C., and VS Peeke. "Attention, memory, and cigarette

smoking." Psychopharmacology 84.2 (1984)

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