More than 90% of smokers who are trying to quit have struggled. The explanation may be concealed in their minds.
Most people who try to stop also resort to smoking cessation drugs, including NicoDerm CQ and Chantix. In a study published this week, FIU Ph.D. student of psychology Jessica Flannery and a team of scientists found that one part of the brain is involved in the development of smoking cravings and symptoms of nicotine withdrawal, while a completely separate part of the brain is related to the extent of the actual addiction of the person. Yet, these drugs are only aimed at one of them.
"This study suggests current medications only treat the symptoms as opposed to the core of the substance-use disease, which is how addicted a person is," said Matthew Sutherland, a cognitive neuroscientist at FIU and senior author of the study. "Instead of a single medication, perhaps multiple medications, each targeting different brain processes, are needed to improve quit rates."
Experts used smoking cessation medications to explain changes in brain function between smokers and non-smokers. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the researchers performed brain scans and identified two areas of brain activity as participants performed different parts of the task. Scientists have identified brain processes correlated with how addicted a person recorded being closely linked to stimulation in the part of the brain called the striatum. Meanwhile, a smoker's craving for cigarettes posted links to activity changes in the brain's habenula.
The World Health Organization reports that there are 1.1 billion cigarette smokers globally. More than half are expected to die of smoking-related illnesses. According to the United States of America. Centers for Disease Control, 68% of smokers want to stop, about half of them try to quit every year. However, nicotine in tobacco products is highly addictive and only 7% is actually successful.
A new study connecting specific brain functions to the use of nicotine gives a blueprint to developing new approaches and improving existing ones.
"Progress toward improving withdrawal management and/or relapse prevention is particularly timely as a new generation of nicotine addicted young adults may likely follow the wide-spread adoption of electronic cigarettes and vaping among today's youth," Flannery said.
The research was published in Science Advances.
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