It’s just one cigarette
Debbie Tesselaar is a PhD candidate at the Department of Psychiatry at Radboud UMC and studies the neurobiology of addiction. Her work focuses on addiction in the brain. In her recent publication, she looks specifically at smoking. “A lot of research focuses on people who are already addicted,” she explains. “But in this study, together with Maartje Luijten (Behavioural Science Institute), we wanted to look at the earlier stage: what happens when someone just starts smoking.”
For the study, a group of young people who are not yet addicted was examined. Some did not smoke, some smoked occasionally, and one group smoked about one cigarette per week. During an fMRI scan, which measures brain activity, participants were shown different types of images, such as friendly social situations, romantic situations, and situations related to smoking. The researchers then looked at how the brain responded to these images.
It starts smaller than you think
At first glance, there seemed to be little difference between the groups. But when the researchers looked more closely at specific brain areas, they saw something interesting. Young people who smoked at least one cigarette per week showed more activity in a specific brain region: the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). This happened when they saw images related to smoking. In young people who did not smoke, this activity was lower. The OFC is located at the front of the brain and plays a role in reward and in recognizing what feels pleasant.
Tesselaar explains: “This means that the brain responds differently to signals related to smoking, such as seeing a cigarette or someone smoking. For young people who are experimenting with smoking, these signals may feel pleasant or attractive more quickly.”
A small effect, but not reassuring
Although the effect was small and should be interpreted with caution, Tesselaar still sees it as an important signal. “Even if you are not addicted yet, but start experimenting, something already seems to change in your brain compared to people who have never smoked,” she says, “I find that concerning.”
She also emphasizes that it is not yet clear whether these brain changes are a cause of smoking or a result of it. More research is needed to answer that. According to Tesselaar, it is important that research focuses more on this early stage of addiction. “If you only look at people who are already addicted, you are already too late,” she says.
The rise of vaping also plays a role. Vapes may have similar effects on the brain. An extra risk is that it is less clear how much you use. With a cigarette, you know when it is finished. With a vape, this is less visible. At the same time, vapes often contain more nicotine than regular tobacco products. This means that use can increase without noticing it. As a result, the effects on the brain may be greater than with cigarettes.
A first step in understanding addiction
The next step is to study larger groups and follow participants over a longer period of time. This will help researchers better understand how addiction develops. “These are the first signs”, says Tesselaar. “But they show that we need to take this early stage seriously.”