Acute Stress Enhances Memory and Preference for Smoking-Related Associations in Smokers.

This article investigates how acute stress influences memory and preference biases toward smoking-related contexts among regular smokers. Using a novel laboratory paradigm, 65 smokers formed associations between smoking-related or neutral visual items and places, then, after 24 hours, were exposed to either an acute stressor (socially evaluated cold pressor test) or a control condition before memory recognition and preference assessments. Results showed that stressed smokers exhibited enhanced gist-level (generalized) memory and preference for smoking-related items and their associated places, alongside impaired specific (detailed) memory, with stronger gist memory marginally linked to longer smoking history. These findings suggest that acute stress biases smokers toward recalling and valuing smoking-associated contexts, highlighting the potential of targeting associative contextual memories in interventions aimed at preventing stress-induced nicotine relapse.