MReport: In The Journals
Brain: No more excuses – seems our brains can be taught to control cravings. According to researchers at Yale University, standard therapeutic techniques decrease cravings of cigarette smokers by regulating activity in two separate areas of the brain. In the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, smokers who are taught cognitive strategies, such as thinking about the long-term consequences of smoking, show increased activity in the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with cognitive control and rational thought. They also show decreased activity in areas of the striatum, a region associated with drug craving and reward-seeking behavior. “This shows that smokers can indeed control their cravings, they just need to be told how to do it,” said Hedy Kober, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine and lead author of the study. More research is being conducted to see if the same goes for other types of drugs and cravings. Read More…
