Trying to quit smoking? Your BRAIN may determine your success: Scans show those who manage to quit are 'wired' differently

The ability to quit smoking has long been thought of as a test of willpower.

But those who do manage it might actually be hard-wired for success, research shows.

A new study has revealed those who succeed have greater connectivity among certain brain regions compared to those who tried and failed.

Researchers at Duke University analysed MRI scans of 85 people taken one month before they attempted to quit.

The volunteers then stopped smoking and had their progress tracked for 10 weeks, during which 41 people relapsed.

Looking back at the brain scans of the 44 smokers who quit successfully, the researchers found they had something in common before they stopped smoking.

This was better co-ordination between the insula - home to urges and cravings - and the somatosensory cortex, part of the brain central to our sense of touch and movement control.

'Simply put, the insula is sending messages to other parts of the brain that then make the decision to pick up a cigarette or not,' said Merideth Addicott, assistant professor at Duke and lead author of the study.

The insula has been the subject of many smoking cessation studies that show this area of the brain is active when smokers are craving cigarettes, added study co-author Joseph McClernon, associate professor at Duke .

Indeed, other studies have found that smokers who suffer damage to the insula appear to spontaneously lose interest in smoking.

Dr McClernon went on to explain that scientists increasingly believe that smoking cessation tools should focus around modifying the insula in some way.

He added there is evidence that suggests targeting connectivity between insula and somatosensory cortex could be a good strategy.

Such interventions could include neurofeedback (brain training) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (brain stimulation) to adapt brain activity.

'We have provided a blueprint,' explained Dr McClernon.

'If we can increase [brain] connectivity in smokers to look more like those who quit successfully, that would be a place to start.

'We also need more research to understand what it is exactly about greater connectivity between these regions that increases the odds of success.'

The study was published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

Source: Daily Mail Uk