The dorsal striatum is a structure in the brain that has been recently linked to smoking addiction. A study shows that people with damage in certain parts of the brain like the dorsal striatum, and an addiction to smoking are more likely to discontinue smoking rather than people who have no damage/damage in other areas of the brain and an addiction to smoking. 

Addiction is a pathological process that involves learning and memory. It can change the structure and function of nerves in the brain. The use of uncontrolled substances, despite their harmful effects, is a major part of this disease. These substances involve alcohol, smoking tobacco, and the use of other drugs. People with an addiction tend to have a distorted way of thinking as well as distorted behavior and intense cravings (Rivera, 2021). The dorsal striatum is one of the main input areas for the basal ganglia. These structures contribute to decision making which can be negatively affected for a person experiencing addiction (Augustine, 2008). 

A recent study conducted by Chuya Jing shows that addictive behavior such as smoking is associated with the dorsal striatum. The results of this study suggest that people with dorsal striatum damage can quit smoking faster and easier than people without damage or damage to other parts of the brain. These results show that the dorsal striatum plays a key role in smoking addiction. The patients of this study were recruited from the hospital of Xiamen University, in Xiamen China. The patient’s records were reviewed to ensure they met 5 requirements which were; suffered an acute cerebral infraction (stroke, tumor, etc.), the brain damage they have can be shown in an MRI, indicating they had a smoking history, indicating they did not suffer from amnesia or aphasia, and indicating they were not addicted to any drugs other than nicotine. The study used subjects with damage in different areas of the brain, eleven of which had dorsal striatum damage. Twenty other subjects had brain damage in areas outside the dorsal striatum. All the subjects have been reported to smoke 10 or more cigarettes per day. The data was collected through electronic records and specified gender, age, years of smoking, and number of cigarettes smoked per day. 

Out of the eleven cigarette smokers who had suffered dorsal striatum injuries, five had right dorsal damage and six had left dorsal damage. The percentage of quitters with disruption of smoking addiction with the dorsal striatum damage was 83.3%, and 16.7% for the non-dorsal striatum damage. The significance of having a disruption of smoking with the dorsal striatum group was much higher than the significance of having a disruption of smoking with the non-dorsal striatum group. There was no significance in the different genders, age, and number of cigarettes smoked per day. The results show that smokers with striatum damage were less likely to experience urges of smoking after quitting and were able to quit smoking more easily, immediately, and remain abstinent. Studies conducted by Arthur Brody claim that dopamine is released in response to cigarette smoking (Brody, 2006). After a dorsal striatum injury, the dopamine release decreases, meaning it will block the addiction mechanism when less dopamine is produced (Volkow, 2006). The dorsal striatum is linked to the orbitofrontal cortex which has been confirmed to be related to drug abuse and addiction, this is because the striatum receives the projection of glutamate neurons from the orbitofrontal cortex. Addictive behavior can increase the projection of the glutamate system through repeated stimulus, causing dopamine and GABA to produce. There will be a positive feedback mechanism in the end due to the repeated stimulus. Damage to the dorsal striatum can change the feedback mechanism which will block the addiction process (Surmeier, 2007). 

In conclusion, research about smoking addiction linked to the dorsal striatum is important in learning and understanding how this problem can be interrupted and fixed. There are endless amounts of research about addiction and its components but there still is no complete answer relating to how individuals become addicted to smoking or drugs, or how it changes the human brain (Volkow, 2020). Some studies explain how addiction is linked to a reward circuit residing in the limbic system, but not any specific area (Tabitha, 1999). Further research on the link between addiction and the dorsal striatum can lead to new findings in medicine, therefore being able to diagnose and treat patients with new and advanced treatments. 

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