The Effects of Smoking Withdrawal on Resting State Functional Connectivity

The broad objective of this proposal is to identify functional neuroanatomical correlates of changes in brain functional connectivity during smoking abstinence. The investigators will measure changes in regional blood oxygenation levels using fMRI while adult smokers and non-smokers lie in the scanner with their eyes closed. Smokers will be scanned when they are abstinent from smoking for 24 hrs and shortly after smoking. Our primary hypothesis is that smoking abstinence will alter resting state brain activity (or resting state functional connectivity; RSFC) across widely distributed neural networks and that high-resolution fMRI will help in resolving the exact nature of such changes. Data will be analyzed using methods developed in our laboratory and applied to other resting state datasets. All of the procedures used in the study are well validated and introduce only minor risk to participants (e.g. blood draw; MRI).