Scientists find new brain link to smoking

Friday, 26, Jan 2007 09:59

Patients with damage to the insula region of the brain may be able to quit smoking easily, new research has found.

Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) studied patients with damage to the insula region of the brain, finding that damage to this region could help disrupt the pleasure reward feelings that people get from satisfying addictions such as smoking.

In the study, published in the latest edition of Science, the university surveyed 69 smokers who had suffered brain damage, 19 of which had suffered damage to the insula region.

Thirteen of the patients with damage to the insula quit smoking, with 12 of them reporting that they just "lost" their urge to smoke.

While the research does not suggest that brain damage could be an effective treatment for nicotine addiction, the study has given researchers a new area of focus in the brain that may not only help smokers, but also other types of addictions such as drugs and over-eating.

"One of the most difficult problems in any form of addiction is the difficulty in stopping the urge to smoke, to take a drug, or to eat for that matter. Now we have identified a brain target for further research into dealing with that urge," said study author Antoine Bechara.

"There is a lot of potential for pharmacological developments," said the author.

Antonio Damasio from USC said that the research shows that disruption to the region seems to break down the "pleasure reward" feelings that people get from addictive behaviours like smoking.

"It is immediate. It's not that they smoke less. They don't smoke, period," he said.