title: Blunted striatal responses to favorite-food cues in smokers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although tobacco-smoking is associated with relatively leaner body mass and smoking cessation with weight gain, the brain mechanisms underlying these relationships are not well understood. Smokers compared to non-smokers have shown diminished neural responses to non-tobacco rewarding stimuli (e.g., monetary rewards), but brain responses to favorite-food cues have not been investigated relative to smoking status. We hypothesized that smokers would exhibit diminished neural responses compared to non-smokers in response to favorite-food cues in motivation-reward and emotion-regulating regions of the brain.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-three smokers and 23 non-smokers matched based on body mass index (BMI), age, and gender listened to personalized favorite-food cue, stress, and neutral-relaxing audiotapes during fMRI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During favorite-food cue exposure, smokers versus non-smokers exhibited diminished activations in the caudate, putamen, insula, and thalamus. Neural responses during stress and neutral-relaxing conditions were similar across groups. Subjective food-craving ratings were similar across groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The relatively diminished neural responses to favorite-food cues in smokers may contribute to lower BMI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Ania M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Jastreboff
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Rajita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Cheryl M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lacadie
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Iris M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Balodis
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sherwin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA. Electronic address: marc.potenza@yale.edu.
authors.forename: Marc N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Potenza
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D066249:Craving / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D017072:Neostriatum / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012907:Smoking / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D013788:Thalamus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: BMI; Food cues; Smoking; fMRI