Studies of nicotine dependence have implicated specific brain regions, particularly the orbitofrontal cortex, prefrontal cortex, cingulate gyrus, anterior cingulate, nucleus accumbens, thalamus, and frontal cortex (Goldstein and Volkow 2002; Rose et al. 2007). However, the biological mechanisms related to chronic exposure to cigarettes remains unclear (Menossi et al. 2013). Therefore, understanding the role of genetic and environmental influences shared between brain neuroanatomy and smoking may provide insight into processes involved in smoking-related behaviors.
