Raymond S Niaura

Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Professional overview

Dr. Raymond Niaura is a psychologist and an expert on tobacco dependence and treatment, as well as substance use and addiction to alcohol. Dr. Niaura researches the biobehavioral substrates of tobacco dependence, including factors that influence adolescent and early adult tobacco use trajectories. He also evaluates behavioral and pharmacological treatments for tobacco cessation, with a particular interest in cessation in disadvantaged population to address public health disparities in tobacco-related burdens of illness and disability.

For eight year, Dr. Niaura was the Director of Science and Training at the Schroeder Institute (SI) for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies at the Truth Initiative, where he also supervised the pre- and post-doctoral training programs. Dr. Niaura has previously taught and conducted research at Brown University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Georgetown Medical Center, and the School of Public Health at University of Maryland. He was also a former President of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco and is  a Deputy Editor of the Nicotine and Tobacco Research.

With grants from the National Institutes of Health, numerous foundations, and private industry, Dr. Niaura has published over 400 peer-reviewed articles, commentaries, and book chapters, including the book The Tobacco Dependence Treatment Handbook: A Guide to Best Practices.

Education

BA, Psychology (First Class Honors), McGill University, Montreal, Canada

MS, Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

PhD, Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ

Honors and awards

Research Laureate, American Academy of Health Behavior (2009)

University Scholar Award, McGill University (1979)

Areas of research and study

Alcohol, Tobacco and Driving Policies

Evaluations

Health Disparities

Substance Abuse

Tobacco Control

Publications

Publications

Reasons for Smoking and Severity of Residual Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms When Using Nicotine Chewing Gum

NIAURA, R., GOLDSTEIN, M. G., WARD, K. D., & ABRAMS, D. B. (n.d.).

Publication year

1989

Journal title

British Journal of Addiction

Volume

84

Issue

6

Page(s)

681-687

10.1111/j.1360-0443.1989.tb03485.x

Abstract

Abstract

Prior to smoking cessation treatment using nicotine chewing gum, 65 smokers completed the Horn Reasons for Smoking Test, the Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire and were assessed on measures of smoking history including saliva cotinine concentration. These measures were used to predict severity of residual nicotine withdrawal symptoms and urges to smoke assessed on a daily basis during the first 2 weeks of attempted abstinence. Univariate analyses indicated that smoking for reasons of handling, craving and to cope with negative affect correlated positively with both residual withdrawal symptoms and urges during the first week. Smoking for reasons of stimulation and habit were also correlated positively with residual withdrawal, and smoking for pleasure correlated with urges to smoke. After controlling for concurrent level of nicotine gum use, analyses suggested that only smoking for reasons of stimulation predicted residual withdrawal. Urges to smoke were positively related to level of smoking during treatment and also to smoking for reasons of craving and handling. Thus, it appears that individual differences in reasons for smoking influence severity of residual nicotine withdrawal symptoms and urges to smoke while chewing nicotine gum. The findings for stimulation smoking and withdrawal are discussed in terms of the reinforcing properties of nicotine with different routes of administration.

Responses to smoking-related stimuli and early relapse to smoking

Niaura, R., Abrams, D., Demuth, B., Pinto, R., & Monti, P. (n.d.).

Publication year

1989

Journal title

Addictive Behaviors

Volume

14

Issue

4

Page(s)

419-428

10.1016/0306-4603(89)90029-4

Abstract

Abstract

Prior to engaging in treatment for smoking cessation, subjects were tested for their responsiveness to cigarette smoking cues. Subjects performed a role-play with a confederate who lit their preferred brand of cigarette. Heart rate (HR) and galvanic skin conductance were assessed continuously, while urge to smoke and anxiety were rated subjectively after the role-play. Three months after treatment ended, subjects were divided into groups of continuous quitters, verified by expired carbon monoxide measurement, and relapsers. The results showed a significant difference between the groups in the pattern of pretreatment HR response to the lighting of the cigarette; relapsers displayed a sharp HR deceleration in response to the stimulus, while quitters' HR did not decelerate. The theoretical and clinical significance of these results is discussed.

Intervention by general practitioners to reduce smoking.

Goldstein, M. G., & Niaura, R. (n.d.). In British medical journal (Clinical research ed.) (1–).

Publication year

1988

Volume

296

Issue

6618

Page(s)

358-359

10.1136/bmj.296.6618.358-c

Psychological distress as a predictor of ventricular arrhythmias in a post-myocardial infarction population

Follick, M. J., Gorkin, L., Capone, R. J., Smith, T. W., Ahern, D. K., Stablein, D., Niaura, R., & Visco, J. (n.d.).

Publication year

1988

Journal title

American Heart Journal

Volume

116

Issue

1

Page(s)

32-36

10.1016/0002-8703(88)90246-3

Abstract

Abstract

A prospective study examining the relationship between psychological distress and ventricular ectopy was conducted with 125 post-myocardial infarction patients equipped with a transtelephonic ECG monitor. Subjects were subsequently grouped according to the occurrence (n = 59) or nonoccurrence (n = 65) of ventricular arrhythmias over a 1-year period. Results indicated a direct relationship between self-reported distress levels and occurrence of ectopic beats. This relationship was unaltered by adjusting simultaneously for known predictors of arrhythmias, including cardiac risk, age, and the prescription of beta-blocker agents. Thus this study represents an initial demonstration in a post-myocardial infarction population that psychosocial factors have prognostic significance for arrhythmias and, presumably, sudden death.

Relevance of Cue Reactivity to Understanding Alcohol and Smoking Relapse

Niaura, R. S., Rohsenow, D. J., Binkoff, J. A., Monti, P. M., Pedraza, M., & Abrams, D. B. (n.d.).

Publication year

1988

Journal title

Journal of abnormal psychology

Volume

97

Issue

2

Page(s)

133-152

10.1037/0021-843X.97.2.133

Abstract

Abstract

Several learning-based theories have been forwarded to account for the problem of drug relapse, including conditioned withdrawal, conditioned compensatory responding, appetitive motivational models, and social learning models. The various models are compared and evaluated against available evidence from studies with humans pertaining to alcohol and tobacco addiction. Studies that are reviewed focus primarily on the antecedents and consequences of alcohol and smoking relapse, as well as on reactions to cues that have been associated with prior drug ingestion, in an attempt to understand their motivational relevance. Problems in evaluating the various relapse models in humans are discussed. It is concluded that the appetitive model is better supported than withdrawal model, and the compensatory model is least supported. Reactions to substance use stimuli may play an important role in alcohol and smoking relapse. Concepts drawn from the various theoretical models are linked tentatively in a schematic diagram of a hypothesized sequence of cognitive/affective, physiological, and behavioral events that lead to initial drug use after a period of abstinence (slip) and then to continued use (a relapse). The treatment implications of some of the cue reactivity models are discussed.

Self-awareness, alcohol consumption, and reduced cardiovascular reactivity

Niaura, R., Wilson, G. T., & Westrick, E. (n.d.).

Publication year

1988

Journal title

Psychosomatic Medicine

Volume

50

Issue

4

Page(s)

360-380

10.1097/00006842-198807000-00005

Abstract

Abstract

Seventy-two healthy males were divided into Type A and Type B groups using the Jenkins Activity Survey. Subjects were subdivided further into high and low self-awareness categories on the private self-consciousness factor of the Self-Consciousness Scale. After random assignment to consume alcohol (0.85 g/kg) or a placebo, subjects were exposed to four stressors presented at random: a self-disclosing speech, aversive noise, insoluble anagrams, and mental arithmetic. Blood pressure, heart rate, and finger pulse amplitude were monitored throughout. Among the major findings was increased systolic blood pressure (BP) reactivity during the speech among Type As low in private self-consciousness. Alcohol dampened autonomic responsiveness only in this group. When self-involvement was measured as the ratio of first-person pronouns to total words spoken during the speech, sober Type As displayed a strong correlation between self-references and SBP reactions during the speech and arithmetic tasks. Alcohol attenuated the correlation, resulting in SBP response dampening, but it did not affect pronoun use. These results have implications for the study of individual differences in cardiovascular reactivity, sensitivity to alcohol effects, and the relation of alcohol consumption to coronary heart disease.

DSM III and the addictive behaviors

Niaura, R., & Nathan, P. (n.d.). In T. Nirenberg & S. Maisto (Eds.), Developments in the assessment and treatment of addictive behavior (1–).

Publication year

1987

Page(s)

31-47

Gender differences in acute psychomotor, cognitive, and pharmacokinetic response to alcohol

Niaura, R. S., Nathan, P. E., Frankenstein, W., Shapiro, A. P., & Brick, J. (n.d.).

Publication year

1987

Journal title

Addictive Behaviors

Volume

12

Issue

4

Page(s)

345-356

10.1016/0306-4603(87)90048-7

Abstract

Abstract

This study investigated gender differences in acute response to alcohol. After practicing several cognitive and psychomotor tasks while sober, male (n = 11) and female (n= 13) social drinkers were administered a 0.65 g/kg dose of ethanol. Subjects were tested on both the ascending and descending limbs of the blood alcohol curve on measures of divided attention, short-term memory, body sway, pursuit tracking ability, and subjective level of intoxication. Blood alcohol level (BAL) was sampled frequently throughout the procedure. Females achieved consistently higher BALs than did males throughout, due mainly to higher BALs among women in the middle stage of the menstrual cycle. Women not using birth control medications also attained higher BALs than did males. When gender differences in BALs were controlled statistically, only memory functioning distinguished the groups: males recovered memory functioning more quickly on the descending limb of the blood alcohol curve than did females. Stage of menstrual cycle or use of birth control medications did not influence psychomotor or cognitive performance while women were intoxicated.

Primary and secondary prevention of alcoholism

Nathan, P., & Niaura, R. (n.d.). In W. M. Cox (Ed.), Treatment and prevention of alcohol problems (1–).

Publication year

1987

Page(s)

333-354

Social learning theory of alcohol use and abuse

Abrams, D., & Niaura, R. (n.d.). In H. Blane & K. Leonard (Eds.), Psychological theories of drinking and alcoholism (1–).

Publication year

1987

Page(s)

131-178

Social learning theory of alcohol abuse

Abrams, D., & Niaura, R. (n.d.). In H. Blane & K. Leonard (Eds.), Psychological theories of drinking and alcoholism (1–).

Publication year

1986

Understanding relapse and recovery in alcohol abuse

Abrams, D., Niaura, R., Carey, K., Binkoff, J., & Monti, P. (n.d.).

Publication year

1986

Journal title

Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Volume

8

Page(s)

27-32

Alcohol, selective attention and sexual arousal in men

Wilson, G. T., Niaura, R. S., & Adler, J. L. (n.d.).

Publication year

1985

Journal title

Journal of Studies on Alcohol

Volume

46

Issue

2

Page(s)

107-115

10.15288/jsa.1985.46.107

Behavioral assessment and treatment of alcoholism

Nathan, P., & Niaura, R. (n.d.). In J. Mendelson & N. Mello (Eds.), The diagnosis and treatment of alcoholism (2nd eds., 1–).

Publication year

1985

Page(s)

391-456

Alcohol and the disinhibition of sexual responsiveness

Wilson, G. T., & Niaura, R. (n.d.).

Publication year

1984

Journal title

Journal of Studies on Alcohol

Volume

45

Issue

3

Page(s)

219-224

10.15288/jsa.1984.45.219

Attentional processes in alcohol-mediated aggression

Zeichner, A., Pihl, R. O., Niaura, R., & Zacchia, C. (n.d.).

Publication year

1982

Journal title

Journal of Studies on Alcohol

Volume

43

Issue

7

Page(s)

714-724

10.15288/jsa.1982.43.714

Learning disability: An inability to sustain attention

Pihl, R. O., & Niaura, R. (n.d.).

Publication year

1982

Journal title

Journal of Clinical Psychology

Volume

38

Issue

3

Page(s)

632-634

10.1002/1097-4679(198207)38:3<632::AID-JCLP2270380330>3.0.CO;2-Q

Abstract

Abstract

Administered a complex reaction time task to 47 learning‐disabled and 41 control children, aged 8 to 10 ½. The preparatory interval between a warning and act light was manipulated for length and regularity. Groups differed only as a function of number of trials. It appears that the inability to sustain attention over time, rather than momentary inattentiveness, distinguished the two groups.

Attribution and alcohol-mediated aggression

Pihl, R., Zeichner, A., Niaura, R., Nagy, K., & Zacchia, C. (n.d.).

Publication year

1981

Journal title

Journal of Abnormal Psychology

Volume

90

Issue

5

Page(s)

468-475