Smoking Changes Brain Chemistry

Chronic smoking can affect nerve cells and alter the chemical makeup of the brain, according to researchers at the University of Bonn, in Germany.

This is the first imaging study to focus on the relationship between brain metabolites and nicotine dependence, said Dr. Okan Gur of the University of Bonn.

Gur and colleagues used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, or MRS, to study 21 men and 22 women, age 21 to 59, in a smoking cessation program.

Proton MRS is able to measure brain metabolism at the cellular level and can provide detailed chemical data about the brain’s metabolites, which are involved in many physical and chemical processes within the body.

The researchers compared the data collected from the smokers to proton MRS data collected and found the nicotine-dependent patients had significantly decreased concentrations of the amino acid N-acetylaspartate, or NAA, in the part of the brain that processes pleasure and pain.

The decreased NAA levels were evident regardless of whether or not the patient used a nicotine patch and correlated directly with the patient’s smoking history. Reduced NAA levels have been reported for a number of psychiatric and mood disorders, the researchers say.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.