The more someone smokes, the smaller the number of gray cells

The more someone smokes, the smaller the number of gray cells: "Is there a relation between the structure of specific regions of the brain and nicotine dependence? This is the question researchers of the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) Berlin, Germany, have been investigating lately. The results of these investigations extend and specify those of preceding studies: A specific region of the cerebral cortex of smokers is thinner than that of people who have never smoked in their lives. This region is decisive for reward, impulse control, and the making of decisions. The questions of whether smoking leads to this cerebral region becoming thinner - or whether people who have a thinner cortex region by nature are more frequently inclined to become smokers - can only be clarified by further investigations."