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Smokers' brains biased against negative images of smoking
Date:
March 10, 2014
Source:
Université de Montréal
Summary:
What
if the use of a product influenced your perception of it, making you
even more susceptible to its positive aspects and altering your
understanding of its drawbacks? This is precisely what happens with
cigarettes in chronic smokers, according to a recent study.
What
if the use of a product influenced your perception of it, making you
even more susceptible to its positive aspects and altering your
understanding of its drawbacks? This is precisely what happens with
cigarettes in chronic smokers, according to a recent study by the
Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal and Université de
Montréal.
The
study showed that chronic smokers have altered emotional reactions when
they are exposed to negative and positive images associated with
tobacco. "We observed a bias depending on how smoking is portrayed ,"
explained Le-Anh Dinh-Williams, a student at the Centre de recherche de
l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal and the study's
first author. "For example, the brains of the smokers in our study were
more aroused by images that showed smoking in a positive light than by
images that encouraged them to stop. They were also more affected by
aversive non-smoking related images than by images of the specific
negative consequences of smoking."
In Canada and the United States, approximately 20% of adults smoke cigarettes despite knowing its adverse effects. "We wanted to understand why knowing about the negative health impacts of tobacco does not prevent smokers from lighting up," explained Ms. Dinh-Williams.
Approximately 70% to 95% of smokers who quit their bad habit will, despite their best efforts, start smoking again within one year. "Many factors make it difficult for people to quit. Part of the explanation could certainly be because cigarettes 'trick' the brains of smokers," stated Stéphane Potvin, a co-author of the study and researcher at the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Université de Montréal. "Specifically, we discovered that the brain regions associated with motivation are more active in smokers when they see pleasurable images associated with cigarettes and less active when smokers are confronted with the negative effects of smoking."
Using neuroimaging techniques, the study researchers compared the emotional reactions of 30 smokers as they looked at aversive smoking-related images (e.g., lung cancer) compared to other aversive images (e.g., an old man on his deathbed) as well as appetitive smoking-related images.
Statistics
In Canada and the United States, approximately 20% of adults smoke cigarettes despite knowing its adverse effects. "We wanted to understand why knowing about the negative health impacts of tobacco does not prevent smokers from lighting up," explained Ms. Dinh-Williams.
Approximately 70% to 95% of smokers who quit their bad habit will, despite their best efforts, start smoking again within one year. "Many factors make it difficult for people to quit. Part of the explanation could certainly be because cigarettes 'trick' the brains of smokers," stated Stéphane Potvin, a co-author of the study and researcher at the Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Montréal and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Université de Montréal. "Specifically, we discovered that the brain regions associated with motivation are more active in smokers when they see pleasurable images associated with cigarettes and less active when smokers are confronted with the negative effects of smoking."
Using neuroimaging techniques, the study researchers compared the emotional reactions of 30 smokers as they looked at aversive smoking-related images (e.g., lung cancer) compared to other aversive images (e.g., an old man on his deathbed) as well as appetitive smoking-related images.
Statistics
- Smokers have a 3 to 9 times greater risk of developing cancer, lung disease or heart problems. Cigarettes are also associated with fertility problems, premature aging, a lack of hygiene and social stigmatization, and they have a negative impact on the health of other people who are exposed to second-hand smoke.
- Overall, 1 out of 2 smokers will die from tobacco use.
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Université de Montréal. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
The above story is based on materials provided by Université de Montréal. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
Cite This Page:- Laurence Dinh-Williams, Adrianna Mendrek, Josiane Bourque, Stéphane Potvin. Where there's smoke, there's fire: The brain reactivity of chronic smokers when exposed to the negative value of smoking. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, 2014; 50: 66 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2013.12.009
Université
de Montréal. "Smokers' brains biased against negative images of
smoking." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 March 2014.
.
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