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'm starting it in the AM as well. How does 9AM sound?
Keep in touch.
Did you go to their website? It has a pretty good looking support system. My prescription came with a card with a PIN number and URL. I recommend using it, and following their program, especially if you have an addictive personality like me. Hell, I could get hooked on cow manure if I tried it lol.
Best of luck!
Well, that's ok. Another reason I don't drink! I like to have my wits about me. I do not go to sleep during surgery either.
Does Chantix need a doctor prescription?
"I quit some years ago, it wasn't so hard after about a week of needing to distract myself in various ways---and staying away from the places where I had smoked. After that I rarely even thought of it. Most days I don't even think of cigarettes in any way. And yet, when I do, I remember how enjoyable it was and wish I could partake, but it isn't a physical craving in any sense.
Smokers have different degree of addiction. My brother-in-law and my brother can go off and on easily. I've seen them doing it for over 30 years.
About withdrwal symptoms?
I know that on the day one smokes his/her last cig and stays away from them for two weeks, all withdral symptoms disappear.
Darn it! I need a cig.
Please cure me, I would love to quit smoking.
Better wait until they perfect this procedure. If the surgeon is just a mm off, and you may be able to quit smoking but become a sex fiend instead. So, be very, very careful with this one.
Can you Freemail me too on your progress?
Thanks.
My doc told me to go ahead and smoke as usual this 7 days and then quit. Said I could use the patch if necessary after that. Is that the route you are going?
I haven't dug into the website yet - been a busy evening around here. However, I plan to. I'm also addicted to studying any kind of meds I take. :o)
Be talking to ya.
And welcome to Free Republic.
Patches aren't an option for me. They tend to elevate blood pressure and I can't have that.
If I hit a weak point I will look at this:
http://www.whyquit.com/whyquit/BryanLeeCurtis.html
He was a little older than I am when he left the world, and started a bit younger than I did, but he made a believer out of me.
Our recovery begins at 9AM and we are in the foxhole!
>>About withdrwal symptoms?
Not ant for me
< Errata
Not any for me
>>Said I could use the patch if necessary after that. Is that the route you are going?
I asked my Doc about the patch and he said he couldn't see it doing any good since nicotine is blocked. He was right - I didn't even think of using a patch although I had one available.
Chantix is not going to be like the previous times you quit....
>>Please cure me, I would love to quit smoking.
Ha!
Well, the Chantix worked for me (and I was impossibly hooked to cigs)
I had my first one this morning(pretty good buzz on the first one hehe). I can feel it working already, it's strange. I feel like I almost have to force myself to smoke(it usually comes natural), and when I do light one up I can't smoke all of it. After a few drags it's like I just want to put it down and go do something else as if my body is somehow rejecting it.
I'll be calling my doctor Monday to see about the Chantix.
Bump to watch how it's going. If you guys start a Quitting Smoking thread please ping me. This sounds wonderful! My daughter has been trying to quit for years with no success.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.