Posted on 01/26/2007 10:04:33 AM PST by The Raven
SCIENTISTS have pinpointed the source of nicotine addiction — a 2.5-centimetre-wide pleasure centre deep in the brain.
The insula, a small island in the cerebral cortex, has been described as a "platform for feelings and emotion".
Researchers found that smokers who suffered damage to this part of the brain were able to quit quickly and easily.
They suspect the insula may also be involved in other forms of addictive behaviour that keep people hooked on drugs or excessive eating.
Understanding the link could lead to new ways to deal with addiction.
The discovery emerged after US scientists learned of a heavy smoker whose dependency was broken after a stroke damaged his insula.
The man, who had smoked 40 cigarettes a day, quit immediately. He told researchers that his body "forgot the urge to smoke".
An investigation of 69 brain-damaged smokers then revealed 19 with insula injury. Of these, 13 had also given up, all but one without any difficulty. The researchers do not know why the six others failed to quit.
The study leader, Antoine Bechara, of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, said: "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."
The insula receives information from other parts of the body and is thought to help translate those signals into something subjectively felt, such as hunger, pain, or a craving.
In the 1990s, a neuroscientist, Antonio Damasio, first suggested that the insula was a platform for feelings and emotion.
"It's really intriguing to think that disrupting this region breaks the pleasure feelings associated with smoking," he said.
Compared with other brain regions, the insula has not attracted much attention from addiction researchers.
But some imaging studies have shown that the region is activated by drug-associated cues, such as the sight of people taking drugs, or drug-taking equipment such as spoons, syringes and "roll-up" paper.
Any anti-smoking treatment aimed at the insula would have to preserve the brain region's beneficial functions.
But Dr Bechara points out that the insula appears to be involved specifically with "learned behaviours", rather than fundamental drives necessary for survival. He believes it might be possible to target one without disrupting the other.
The findings were reported this week in the journal Science. Peter Stern, the journal's senior editor, said: "This kind of study is quite forward-looking. In addition to investigating a basic scientific mechanism underlying drug addiction, these authors have come up with innovative ideas about how we may be able to treat addiction and prevent relapse."
I gained 6 pounds, and had some dreaming. Also went on shopping binges (it's true). I didn't have the other side effects.
When I want to quit I will. It helps to have self discipline.
Oh yeah, sure. Some scientists are trying to find a brain center for everything. This is really part of the attempt to reduce the human mind to a machine.
Now maybe they can find the center for liberalism.
So...how long do you have to take it? Did your medical insurance cover it? Did you have to see a specialist?
"How long did you smoke, while taking the drug, before you quit. The website for the drug recommended 7 days."
I smoked that first week but less frequently as the week went on. Since then, I'm a non-smoker.
Great News!
Now maybe there is hope for all those people who are addicted to telling everyone else how to live.
Control freaks of every stripe, there is hope for you!
I smoke off and on. I will find it inconvenient or some other reason and just make the decision and stop, no angst or planning, no withdrawl or cravings. I may go six months or even several years until I find it convenient again. And, like you, I enjoy the smell of smoke. I find it more a habit than an addiction. Maybe my brain is broken.
They recommend taking it for 12 weeks. 1 pill a day for the first 3 days then two a day for the duration. The guy who told me about it stopped taking it after 8 weeks. My insurance did cover it and I paid a $35 co-pay.
I asked my regular family doctor about it. He was not familiar with it so he called a cardiologist friend who was familiar with it and recommended it.
It worked for me and several people I know at work.
Just got the prescription filled! I'm excited about it after reading this thread.
Thanks guys!
Ping!
Chantix? I never heard of the stuff. Alot of folks here say it works, I will have to tell my daughter about it. She just graduated from UT (and she's ultra conservative, How about that?!)and she started smoking while she was there and is trying to quit but is having a hell of a time with it, as she is often around others who are smoking. I quit about 20 years ago and still remember it as one of the hardest things I ever did.
Good luck!
"Chantix? I never heard of the stuff."
I think it just came out late last year. If she is actively trying to quit, I'm betting Chantix would help.
Good for you.
Actually, the evidence is building that it is exactly that simple; once all the pathways are mapped and the excitors built, we can produce 24 hours a day, even while we sleep.
>>So after the brain surgery does one just forget to light up, or forget what the white stick thingy is for, or what?<<
Seldom does a post get me red faced with my hand over my mouth, trying to contain my laughter so those in the other cubes don't hear.
Yours was just such a post...
I "forgot to smoke" a couple of times, once for eight years and once for ten. Maybe I should have my insula checked.
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