Tobacco.org

• PET Study Highlights Mechanism Involved in Nicotine Craving 

Researchers at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine have used positron emission tomography (PET) to reveal the mechanism through which bupropion, a smoking cessation drug, works in the brain to reduce cigarette cravings.

The scientists used PET imaging to examine brain activity in bupropion-medicated and unmedicated smokers who were exposed to smoking cues, such as the sight and feel of a cigarette. They were able to show that in the presence of bupropion, brain cells in the anterior cingulate cortexa region known to be involved in drug cravingdo not activate in response to cigarette-related cues. Until now, scientists and clinicians knew the drug reduced the urge to smoke, but the central nervous system process by which it did so was unknown.

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