Work Force 2008

How do cigarettes to calm down

by admin on 28/04/09 at 3:33 am

One of the typical responses of a smoker who does not want to quit smoking is: “but I feel reassured.” True, nicotine alters the activity of certain brain areas involved in negative emotions. But at what cost? Without that most of the time the calm that is sought in the cigarette is nothing more than the addiction asking your dose of nicotine.
In an article published in Behavioral and Brain Functions, Researchers at the University of California explained that they have shown that nicotine has a calming neurological. Managed to do it with a group of non-smokers who were provoked to be angry.

Jean Gehricke, director of the study, has studied the tendency of subjects with nicotine patches, to retaliate in response to a provocation. For this study the subjects played a computer game and could see a screen with another player they believed it was his opponent. However, the fact is they were playing alone.
After each round, the winner could give your opponent a nasty burst of sound, volume and duration in a choice of winner. In some subjects, nicotine was associated with a reduced tendency to revenge, even after being provoked by his opponent.

This was related to changes in the metabolism of the brain in response to nicotine in brain areas responsible for the direction, planning and process of emotional stimuli, said Gehricke.

This study shows that people prone to anger are most susceptible to the effect of nicotine, and therefore it is easier to become addicted to smoking.