Neural Correlates of Graphic Cigarette Warning Labels Predict Smoking Cessation Relapse

Exposure to graphic warning labels (GWLs) on cigarette packaging has been found to produce heightened activity in brain regions central to emotional processing and higher-order cognitive processes. The current study extends this literature by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate neural activation in response to GWLs and use it to predict relapse in an evidence-based smoking cessation treatment program. Participants were 48 treatment-seeking nicotine-dependent smokers who completed an fMRI paradigm in which they were exposed to GWLs, text-only warning labels (TOLs), and matched control stimuli.

Source: Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging - February 15, 2017 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Max M. Owens, James MacKillop, Joshua C. Gray, Brittany E. Hawkshead, Cara M. Murphy, Lawrence H. Sweet Source Type: research