Our brains are pretty smart! A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan revealed that an MRI scan can detect the likelihood of a smoker being able to quit smoking. The researchers had heavy smokers watch a series of commercials about quitting smoking while undergoing MRI scans. The scans of smokers who eventually managed to quit smoking or who smoked less in the following month showed more activity in the medial prefrontal cortex of the brain, a region thought to be predicative of behavioural change. These scans proved to be a better prediction of smokers’ future behaviour than their self assessment of the likelihood of success.
