Parts of the brain form a circuit that may fuel smoking addiction

There is a person by the name ofClare Wilson.

The brains of smokers who lost their nicotine cravings after brain damage were analysed.

Juho Joutsa says the finding could lead to the use of brain stimulation devices to help people stop using drugs.

The device that is approved to help people quit smoking is called transcranial magnetic stimulation. A small device is placed over the head of a patient to boost brain activity. It isn't used often and it's not clear how it works.

In order to better understand the brain areas involved in addiction, Joutsa's team looked at the brain scans of 34 people who suddenly lost the desire to smoke after a stroke, which involves damage to a small part of the brain. Joutsa said it was a striking change in behavior. They didn't want to smoke anymore.

The brains of 69 smokers who had a brain injury were compared with those of 69 smokers who had no brain injury.

Read more: The love drug that could draw people away from any addiction

The areas of the brain with strong connections to the three areas were damaged by those who lost the desire to smoke. Joutsa believes that this should be seen as an addiction circuit.

The quitters didn't have any damage in the fourth part of the circuit. This region is located in the center of the forehead and seems to act as an inhibition. Joutsa says that targeting the prefrontal cortex could help with addiction.

A group of 186 people with brain injuries were found to have a lower likelihood of alcohol addiction. Three people with brain damage in this circuit lost their addictions to drugs like alcohol and nicotine.

According to Nick Davis at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK, the new findings may suggest ways to increase the effectiveness of TMS. Magnetic or electrical stimulation can be used to increase or decrease brain activity.

Nature Medicine is published in a journal.