The research team, led by the Universities of Cambridge and Warwick in the UK and Fudan University in China, analyzed brain imaging and behavioral data from 800 young adults aged 14, 19 and 23. This research is mentioned in an article Medical Express.
The researchers found that teenagers who started smoking at age 14 had, on average, less gray matter in a region of the left frontal lobe associated with decision-making and breaking rules.
Gray matter is the brain tissue that processes information and contains the nerve cells of all organs. While brain development continues into adulthood, gray matter development peaks before adolescence.
According to the researchers, reduced gray matter in this region of the brain may be a heritable biomarker for nicotine addiction.
They also found that the right side of the same brain region in smokers had less gray matter. Gray matter loss accelerates in the right frontal cortex only after one starts smoking. This part is connected with the search for feelings.
Taken together, the findings point to a damaged “neurobehavioral mechanism” that can lead to nicotine use starting early and being locked into long-term addiction.
“You can start smoking in your teenage years. Any way to detect this high risk could help target interventions and save millions of lives,” study co-author Professor Trevor Robbins says in the article. The study is published in the journal Natural communication.
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