Brain Imaging Reveals Mechanism of Cigarette Addiction

Researchers at the Yale University School of Medicine (YUSM; New Haven, CT, USA) have reported the results of a study into the use of advanced imaging aids in understanding cigarette addiction. Costs of smoking-related illness in the USA exceed USD 289 billion annually, and kill more than 480,000 Americans every year.

The study was published in the December 10, 2014, online issue of the Journal of Neuroscience. The researchers developed a new imaging technique, using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to capture and visualize the signature of addiction in the brain of smokers. The technique shows the patterns of activation of dopamine, a neurotransmitter, in the brain over time.

The results of the study suggest that imaging could be used to help develop personalized therapies for people addicted to smoking.

Dr. Evan D. Morris, PhD, associate professor of diagnostic radiology at YUSM, said, “Men are more sensitive to the nicotine level, while women tend to smoke out of habit and for mood stabilization and social reasons. It stands to reason that their brains are doing something different. The right ventral striatum is believed to be specifically involved in drug reinforcement and explains why people want to seek more drugs, distinct of other aspects of addiction like sight and smell.”

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