Do Cognitive Processes Influence Nicotine Addiction?
A new study suggests that the way in which the human brain responds to nicotine depends on what a smoker believes about the drug’s content in a cigarette. The investigation found that smoking a cigarette that contains nicotine, but thinking that it did not, fails to satisfy cravings associated with nicotine addiction. To satisfy cravings, therefore, smokers not only have to smoke a cigarette with nicotine present, but also believe that it is present. Results from the study are backed up by previous research and provide an insight into possible new directions for the future treatment of nicotine addiction.
Click here to read the full article in Frontiers in Psychiatry.