over extended periods in chronic smokers (e.g., >5 years). Additionally, it is vital to conduct prospective pre-and-post neuroimaging and neurocognitive studies with individuals engaging in smoking cessation programs to determine if smoking-related neurobiological and neurocognitive abnormalities recover with smoking cessation, and to assess the effect of pharmacologic interventions (e.g., nicotine replacement, varenicline) on neurobiological and neurocognitive changes. Such longitudinal studies will assist in determining if the neurocognitive and/or neurobiological abnormalities observed in cross-sectional studies are related to premorbid factors.
