Down-regulation of amygdala and insula functional circuits by varenicline and nicotine in abstinent cigarette smokers.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although the amygdala and insula are regarded as critical neural substrates perpetuating cigarette smoking, little is known about their circuit-level interactions with interconnected regions during nicotine withdrawal or following pharmacotherapy administration. To elucidate neurocircuitry associated with early smoking abstinence, we examined the impact of varenicline and nicotine, two modestly efficacious pharmacologic cessation aids, on amygdala- and insula-centered circuits using resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC).

Methods

In a functional magnetic resonance imaging study employing a two-drug, placebo-controlled design, 24 overnight-abstinent smokers and 20 nonsmokers underwent ∼17 days of varenicline and placebo pill administration and were scanned, o

SUBMITTER: Sutherland MT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3775982 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature