Recovery from nicotine addiction: A diffusion model decomposition of value-based decision-making in current smokers and ex-smokers.

The number of people dependent on nicotine has decreased steadily during the past decade; however, the mechanisms that underlie recovery are currently less well understood. The present study applied advances in the measurement of value-based choice. The aim was to explore whether the internal processes that underpin value-based decision-making (VBDM) discriminate current daily tobacco smokers from ex-tobacco smokers who used to smoke daily. Findings revealed that recovery from nicotine addiction was characterised by higher response thresholds when making value-based decisions about tobacco-related cues; this may serve as a novel target for treatment interventions that focus on helping people to stop smoking.