Do you smoke? It turns out that there may be a reason it's so hard to quit the habit. Researchers have found that smokers suffering from nicotine withdrawal may have more trouble shifting their brain network.
In fact, the recent study shows that smokers who were trying to quit showed weakened interconnectivity between certain large-scale networks in their brains, according to The Financial Express. These included the default mode network, the executive control network and the salience network.
"What we believe this means it that smokers who just quite have a more difficult time shifting gears from inward thoughts about how they feel to an outward focus on the tasks at hand," said Caryn Lerman, one of the researchers, in an interview with RedOrbit. "It's very important for people who are trying to quit to be able to maintain activity within the control network-to be able to shift from thinking about yourself and your inner state to focus on your more immediate goals and plan."
This latest research may show why smokers have such a hard time quitting. It's estimated that about 80 percent of smokers trying to quit end up picking up the habit again, according to Medical News Today. These latest findings reveal how the brain plays an important part in this particular issue, which could lead to better ways to help smokers in the future. Establishing the strength and connectivity between brain networks will be important when it comes to predicting people's ability to quit for good.
"Symptoms of withdrawal are related to changes in smokers' brains, as they adjust to being off of nicotine, and this study validates those experiences as having a biological basis," said Lerman in an interview with RedOrbit. "The next step will be to identify in advance those smokers who will have more difficulty quitting and target more intensive treatments, based on brain activity and network connectivity."
