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."
Hot Dog!! Maybe I can get a two-fer when they do my lobotomy!! I mean they're going to be right there. A little snip and I can quit smoking painlessly!! I love modern medicine.
Probably easier just to take some Chantix.
So after the brain surgery does one just forget to light up, or forget what the white stick thingy is for, or what?
Wait until we have HillaryCare, smokers will be rounded up for the procedure!
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me...
>>Chantix.
Worked for me!!! Miracle drug
"Worked for me!!! Miracle drug"
Dittos.
Does that stuff work? I have a script for it, but haven't yet filled it. I tried Wellbutren before, and it was ineffective.
Absolutely........pick a quit date and go for it.
I quit Thanksgiving and haven't even thought of a cig since then.
"In studies, the most common side effects for people who took CHANTIX were nausea, changes in dreaming, constipation, gas and/or vomiting." (Pfizer website)
To stop smoking is always commendable but I imagine while heaving the urge to smoke does go away.
Chantix is the shiz-nit. The guy who told me about it had smoked for over 30 years and could never quit untill he got Chantix. We went on a long trip together and I was smoking in the car and he never even hinted at lighting up.
Since then, about 5 people at my work have quit smoking by taking Chantix.
Pfizer needs to send me a check for this non-celebrity endorsement. :)
How long did you smoke, while taking the drug, before you quit. The website for the drug recommended 7 days.
LOL!
~guffaw!~ Little do they know about Insula's big sister, Ursula, next to the cerebellar pontine angle...
No telling what Ursula will do when Insula is rendered helpless...
"nausea, changes in dreaming, constipation, gas and/or vomiting."
I don't know anyone who has experienced those side effects. You should take Chantix with a meal. I didn't once and it did give me a stomach ache for about 5-10 minutes. But Tylenol does that to me as well if I take it on an empty stomach.
Chantix is the real deal.
" smokers who suffered damage to this part of the brain were able to quit quickly and easily. "
You have to be brain damaged to quit smoking?
So, you need brain damage to quit smoking easily? Hmm. Let me know when they find the will power "platform" or "insula" or whatchamacallit.
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.
If you want to quit, you don't need brain damage. A brain will do.
If you don't...that's ok too! :)
I quit on the 7th day and haven't looked back. Pfizer invented a new molecule which interferes with the nicotine receptors. For me - it was as if I never smoked. There were no withdrawels.
Before that I had tried everything on the plnaet and failed (patch, inhaler, cold turkey, etc)
Did you gain any weight after you quit smoking?
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