Rose et al. (2007) also studied smokers (n = 15) with functional brain imaging following treatment for nicotine dependence. In this study, subjects were given nicotine patches and denicotinized cigarettes. PET scans were obtained at baseline, after 2 weeks of nicotine patch and denicotinized cigarettes, and 2 weeks after patients returned back to smoking. Craving of cigarettes was lower at the second session compared to the other two. After 2 weeks’ exposure to nicotine patches and denicotinized cigarettes, the authors found decreased brain metabolic activity in the right hemisphere anterior cingulate cortex.
