Activation in mesolimbic and visuospatial neural circuits elicited by smoking cues: evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The authors sought to increase understanding of the brain mechanisms involved
in cigarette addiction by identifying neural substrates modulated by visual smoking
cues in nicotine-deprived smokers. METHOD: Event-related functional magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI) was used to detect brain activation after exposure to smoking-related
images in a group of nicotine-deprived smokers and a nonsmoking comparison group.
Subjects viewed a pseudo-random sequence of smoking images, neutral nonsmoking images,
and rare targets (photographs of animals). Subjects pressed a button whenever a rare
target appeared. RESULTS: In smokers, the fMRI signal was greater after exposure to
smoking-related images than after exposure to neutral images in mesolimbic dopamine
reward circuits known to be activated by addictive drugs (right posterior amygdala,
posterior hippocampus, ventral tegmental area, and medial thalamus) as well as in
areas related to visuospatial attention (bilateral prefrontal and parietal cortex
and right fusiform gyrus). In nonsmokers, no significant differences in fMRI signal
following exposure to smoking-related and neutral images were detected. In most regions
studied, both subject groups showed greater activation following presentation of rare
target images than after exposure to neutral images. CONCLUSIONS: In nicotine-deprived
smokers, both reward and attention circuits were activated by exposure to smoking-related
images. Smoking cues are processed like rare targets in that they activate attentional
regions. These cues are also processed like addictive drugs in that they activate
mesolimbic reward regions.
Type
Journal articleSubject
AdultAttention
Behavior, Addictive
Brain
Cerebral Cortex
Cues
Dopamine
Female
Humans
Limbic System
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Neural Pathways
Reward
Smoking
Space Perception
Tobacco Use Disorder
Visual Perception
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10131Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1176/appi.ajp.159.6.954Publication Info
Due, Deborah L; Huettel, Scott A; Hall, Warren G; & Rubin, David C (2002). Activation in mesolimbic and visuospatial neural circuits elicited by smoking cues:
evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging. Am J Psychiatry, 159(6). pp. 954-960. 10.1176/appi.ajp.159.6.954. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10131.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Scott Huettel
Professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience
Research in my laboratory investigates the brain mechanisms underlying economic and
social decision making; collectively, this research falls into the field of “decision
neuroscience” or "neuroeconomics". My laboratory uses fMRI to probe brain function,
behavioral assays to characterize individual differences, and other physiological
methods (e.g., eye tracking, pharmacological manipulation, genetics) to link brain
and behavior. Concurrent with research on basic processes, my labo
David C. Rubin
Juanita M. Kreps Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
For .pdfs of all publications click here My main research interest has been in long-term
memory, especially for complex (or "real-world") stimuli. This work includes the study
of autobiographical memory and oral traditions, as w
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