The Effect of Daily Tobacco Use on Accuracy on the PMIT Test

Introduction 

While previous research on the cognitive effects of tobacco use have shown evidence of both neuroprotective and neurotoxic long-term effects of nicotine, there remains a knowledge gap regarding the overall effect of tobacco use on an individual’s cognitive performance when tested on a specific task. There are aspects of nicotine that are cognitive-enhancing,including an increase in working memory, executive function, and neuroplasticity (Swan, 2007). However, there is also evidence that overtime the effects of tobacco can cause a decrease in cognitive performance by causing apoptosis, oxidative-stress, and memory impairment in high doses (Toledano, 2010). The following experiment will attempt to determine how the combination of cognitive-enhancing and cognitive-degrading aspects of nicotine in cigarettes compares to an individual with no tobacco exposure when both individuals are tested on short-term visual memory. The null hypothesis states that there will be no significant difference between the number of correct responses when comparing the PMIT results for an individual who smokes 0 packs of cigarettes a day and an individual who smokes 1 pack of cigarettes a day. The alternative hypothesis states that there will be a statistically significant difference between the number of correct responses when comparing the PMIT results for an individual who smokes 0 packs of cigarettes a day and an individual who smokes 1 pack of cigarettes a day.

Materials and Methods

The experiment will be conducted by compiling results of MIT test scores and selecting for the desired variables and controls in the MIT web interface. The material needed for this experiment is the online MIT Web Interface. The major procedures and techniques used will be the Student’s t-test and basic experimental design. The PMIT consists of four memory tests where individuals are to recognize target images (pictures, faces, designs, and kanji) from a recognition list containing both target images and additional distracter images followed by a reaction time test.In the MIT web interface the Pictures test will be chosen in order to specifically test for the impact of tobacco use on visual memory and demographic list 4 will be selected to test for tobacco use. In the category titled tobc_hrs, Set 1 will be marked 0 while Set 2 is marked 1 to indicate the number of packs of cigarettes a day. The groups being compared are one sample of individuals who have smoked 0 packs of cigarettes the day of the test and a sample of individuals who have smoked 1 pack of cigarettes the day of the test. The parameter being measured is the number of correct responses in arbitrary units (arb. units). After the test is run the statistical information  was found in the web interface and analyzed with the Student’s t-test. The p-value was estimated by comparing the T-value to the T-values listed in the table and the significance level was set at a p-value of 0.05.

The p-value for the experimental data was between 0.1 and 0.2. The experiment failed to reject the null hypothesis.

References

Swan, Gary E., and Christina N. Lessov-Schlaggar. “The Effects of Tobacco Smoke and Nicotine on Cognition and the Brain.” Neuropsychology Review, vol. 17, no. 3, 2007, pp. 259–273.                          

Toledano, Adolfo, and Maria-Isabel Alvarez. “Diversity and Variability of the Effects of Nicotine on Different Cortical Regions of the Brain. Therapeutic and Toxicological Implications.” Central Nervous System Agents in Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 10, no. 3, 2010, pp. 180–206.