Disruption of cigarette smoking addiction after posterior cingulate damage

J Neurosurg. 2010 Dec;113(6):1219-21. doi: 10.3171/2010.6.JNS10346. Epub 2010 Jul 2.

Abstract

The authors describe the case of a 35-year-old woman with a history of an addiction to cigarette smoking who presented with an intracerebral hemorrhage from a ruptured arteriovenous malformation. The patient reported an immediate and complete disruption of her addiction to cigarette smoking following her stroke. Structural MR imaging revealed a lesion of the posterior cingulate cortex. Neuropsychological tests showed intact cognitive functioning. This observation suggests that the posterior cingulate cortex may play a role in the addiction to cigarette smoking.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Behavior, Addictive / physiopathology*
  • Cerebral Hemorrhage / etiology
  • Cerebral Hemorrhage / psychology
  • Female
  • Gyrus Cinguli / injuries*
  • Humans
  • Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations
  • Rupture, Spontaneous / complications*
  • Smoking / physiopathology*
  • Smoking Cessation*
  • Stroke / etiology
  • Stroke / psychology*