Basic science studies indicate that menthol can enhance the cognitive effects of nicotine to increase nicotine dependence; however, the effect of menthol and nicotine on cognitive functioning among humans has been understudied. This double-blind, placebo-controlled study examined the dose-dependent effects of inhaled menthol flavoring and intravenous nicotine on cognitive task performance. Twenty menthol (MS) and 18 non-menthol (NMS) cigarette preferring, young-adult smokers (21% female; 7.9% Hispanic, 44.7% Non-Hispanic/White, 47.4% Non-Hispanic/Black) completed three sessions with randomized order of menthol flavoring (between-sessions: 0.0%/tobacco control, 0.5%/low, 3.2%/high) and intravenous nicotine (within-session: 0.0 mg/saline control, 0.25 mg/low, 0.5 mg/high). After each administration, participants completed three cognitive tasks: Continuous Performance Task (CPT), Mathematical Processing Task (MPT), and Stroop Task. Mixed effects models were used to examine interactive effects of cigarette type preference and menthol and nicotine doses. MS vs. NMS had decreased accuracy on CPT and MPT and efficiency during Stroop. No significant effects of cigarette type preference by menthol or nicotine were found for any task. Significant effects of nicotine by menthol were found during Stroop, where participants had greater accuracy for high nicotine compared to saline during the low menthol session. Significant effects of menthol by timepoint were seen during Stroop, where participants improved across timepoints during the low menthol session. Findings did not support significant effects of inhaled menthol, alone or with nicotine, on cognitive performance. Further research clarifying the impact of varying menthol and nicotine levels in nicotine products may help to elucidate menthol’s role in smoking sustainment.

基础科学研究表明，薄荷醇可以增强尼古丁的认知作用，从而增加尼古丁依赖；然而，薄荷醇和尼古丁对人类认知功能的影响尚未得到充分研究。这项双盲、安慰剂对照研究检查了吸入薄荷醇调味剂和静脉注射尼古丁对认知任务表现的剂量依赖性影响。20 名薄荷醇 (MS) 和 18 名非薄荷醇 (NMS) 卷烟偏爱的年轻成年吸烟者（21% 女性；7.9% 西班牙裔，44.7% 非西班牙裔/白人，47.4% 非西班牙裔/黑人）完成了三个随机分组薄荷醇调味剂（会话之间：0.0%/烟草控制、0.5%/低、3.2%/高）和静脉内尼古丁（会话内：0.0 mg/盐水控制、0.25 mg/低、0.5 mg/高）的顺序。每次给药后，参与者完成了三项认知任务：连续性能任务 (CPT)、数学处理任务 (MPT) 和 Stroop 任务。混合效应模型用于检查卷烟类型偏好与薄荷醇和尼古丁剂量的交互影响。MS 与 NMS 在 Stroop 期间 CPT 和 MPT 的准确性和效率降低。对于任何任务，都没有发现薄荷醇或尼古丁对香烟类型偏好的显着影响。在 Stroop 期间发现了薄荷醇对尼古丁的显着影响，与低薄荷醇会话期间的盐水相比，参与者对高尼古丁的准确度更高。在 Stroop 期间，按时间点观察到薄荷醇的显着影响，参与者在低薄荷醇会话期间跨时间点得到改善。研究结果不支持单独或与尼古丁一起吸入薄荷醇对认知能力的显着影响。