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Binaural beats (BBs) have garnered attention as a highly accessible, noninvasive method to enhance cognitive performance, putatively via brain entrainment. However, the few studies that have directly examined the impact of BBs on sustained attention report inconsistent findings, perhaps due to wide variation in methodology. This study experimentally varied BB parameters while testing the effects of BBs on both sustained attention and brain entrainment. 80 undergraduate participants were randomized to 1 of 16 between-subject conditions in a 2 beats frequency (beta or gamma) × 2 carrier tone (340 or 400 Hz) × 2 onset time (before or with task onset) × 2 background masking noise (present or absent) factorial design. Participants completed a 2-visit within-subjects cross-over comparison of BBs vs. control auditory stimulation. EEG data were collected to validate brain entrainment. Gamma frequency BBs with a low carrier tone and white noise background improved general attention performance but did not reduce the vigilance decrement over time, suggesting BBs may modulate other cognitive aspects rather than sustained focus. EEG results confirmed brain entrainment, though entrainment varied with BB parameters and background noise. Further research should explore the interactions between BB parameters to optimize their use for cognitive enhancement., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Introduction: People who metabolize nicotine more quickly are generally less successful at quitting smoking. However, the mechanisms that link individual differences in the nicotine metabolite ratio (NMR), a phenotypic biomarker of the rate of nicotine clearance, to smoking outcomes are unclear. We tested the hypotheses that higher NMR is associated with greater smoking reinforcement, general craving, and cue-induced cigarette craving in a treatment-seeking sample., Methods: Participants were 252 adults who smoke cigarettes enrolled in a randomized controlled smoking cessation trial (NCT03262662) conducted in Buffalo, New York, USA. Participants completed the Choice Behavior Under Cued Conditions (CBUCC) paradigm, a laboratory choice procedure, ~1 week before the first cessation treatment visit, at which time a saliva sample was collected for NMR assessment. On each CBUCC trial, participants reported cigarette craving during cue presentation (cigarette, water) and spent $0.01-$0.25 for a chance (5%-95%) to sample the cue (one puff, sip), providing measures of smoking reinforcement (spending for cigarettes vs. water), general cigarette craving (averaged across cigarette and water cues), and cue-specific craving (cigarette craving during cigarette vs. water cues)., Results: As observed in prior work, the NMR was significantly higher among White and female participants. As expected, both spending and cigarette craving were significantly greater on cigarette compared to water trials. However, contrary to our hypotheses, higher NMR was not associated with greater smoking reinforcement, general craving, or cue-specific craving., Conclusions: The present data do not support that smoking reinforcement or craving is related to nicotine metabolism among individuals seeking to quit smoking., Implications: Though greater smoking reinforcement, general craving, and cue-specific craving are hypothesized to be linked to faster nicotine metabolism, there was no evidence of such relationships in the present sample of adults seeking to quit smoking. Further research, including replication and consideration of alternate hypotheses, is warranted to elucidate the mechanisms by which the NMR is related to smoking cessation., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Rationale: Varenicline, a partial nicotinic agonist, is theorized to attenuate pre-quit smoking reinforcement and post-quit withdrawal and craving. However, the mechanisms of action have not been fully characterized, as most studies employ only retrospective self-report measures, hypothetical indices of reinforcing value, and/or nontreatment-seeking samples., Objectives: The current research examined the impact of pre-quit varenicline (vs. placebo) on laboratory measures of smoking and food (vs. water) reinforcement and craving., Methods: Participants were 162 treatment-seeking smokers enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of smoking cessation ( clinicaltrials.gov ID: NCT03262662). Participants completed two laboratory sessions: a pre-treatment session, ~ 1 week prior to beginning varenicline or placebo, and an active treatment session, after ~ 3 weeks of treatment. At each session, participants completed a laboratory choice procedure; on each of 36 trials, a lit cigarette, food item, or cup of water was randomly presented. Participants reported level of craving and spent $0.01-0.25 to have a corresponding 5-95% chance to sample the cue., Results: As predicted, spending was significantly higher on cigarette trials than water trials, and varenicline resulted in a greater between-session decline in spending on cigarette trials (but not water) than did placebo. Cigarette craving was enhanced in the presence of smoking cues compared to water, but neither average (tonic) cigarette craving nor cue-specific cigarette craving was significantly influenced by varenicline. Food spending and craving were generally unaffected by varenicline treatment., Conclusions: These laboratory data from treatment-seeking smokers provide the strongest evidence to date that varenicline selectively attenuates smoking reinforcement prior to quitting.