Objective: To examine the relationship between prepotent inhibition capacities and cigarette dependence
in a sample of non-deprived light to moderate smokers.
Methods: Fifty volunteer smokers were screened with a laboratory go-stop paradigm, and self-reports of
cigarette dependence (Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence, FTND) and cigarette craving (revised
Questionnaire on Smoking Urge, QSU-12).
Results: Correlation and regression analyses showed that lower prepotent inhibition capacities predict
higher levels of cigarette dependence when individual differences in processing speed, craving states,
and age were controlled for. In addition, lower inhibition capacity is associated with a higher number of
cigarettes smoked per day.
Conclusions: A poor ability to inhibit prepotent responses seems to be one of the individual factors related
to cigarette smoking dependence