Researchers measuring blood flow in the brain found that craving for nicotine among smokers produces activity in specific areas of the brain. The study was billed as the first to show how abstinence produces specific craving-related brain-activation patterns.

Increased activity among abstinent smokers was seen in parts of the brain involved in attention, behavioral control, memory, and reward.

"There have been several brain imaging studies showing how subjects respond to visual, smoking-related cues, such as a picture of a cigarette or of someone smoking," said Caryn Lerman, Ph.D., director of the Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania and lead author of the report. "However, less is known about the neural basis of urges that arise naturally as a result of nicotine deprivation. This study was designed help fill this research gap."

Researchers used MRI arterial spin labeled (ASL) technology to measure blood flow in the brain, comparing 15 regular smokers -- half of whom smoked a cigarette an hour before the study, the rest who abstained from smoking overnight.

 "The craving assessments used in our study predict relapse in smoking cessation treatment," said Lerman, who noted that someday "perfusion MRI may aid in the identification of smokers at increased risk for relapse who may require more intensive therapy."  

The study was published in the Dec. 19, 2007 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience.