Cue reactivity in electronic cigarette users is unrelated to sign-tracking propensity

Cue reactivity is an important predictor of addiction and relapse. However, it is unclear to what degree it is determined by a trait-like propensity to attribute incentive salience to cues. Animal studies have uncovered that individual variation in such a trait-like propensity expressed behaviorally as “sign-tracking” (ST) is associated with addiction-relevant behavioral and neurobiological features. The current study is first to examine the association between ST and cue reactivity in regular electronic cigarette (ECIG) users. Thirty-seven moderately dependent ECIG users (20 females) were characterized in terms of their ST propensity based on a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm accompanied by eye-tracking and exposed to ECIG and neutral (water) cues in two separate within-subjects sessions. Cue exposure was accompanied by EEG in a subset of participants (n=19). The propensity to ST was prominent in the majority of the sample (n=28). Self-reported cravings increased significantly following ECIG cues relative to neutral cues. There was no significant association of the increase in craving following ECIG cues relative to water cues (i.e., cue-reactivity) with ST propensity or self-reported ECIG dependence. EEG amplitudes in P300 and LPP components did not differ significantly as a function of cue type or sign-tracking propensity. In conclusion, our preliminary findings do not support the hypothesis that the propensity for incentive salience attribution to cues is a determinant of cue reactivity. However, notably, the majority of the sample displayed pronounced ST raising the possibility that ECIG users are a population prone to ST.