ArticleNature. Mental health2024
Nicotine-related beliefs induce dose-dependent responses in the human brain.
Article in Nature. Mental health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- [Dynamic alterations in regional brain activity associated with bipolar disorder and smoking status].Zhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences · 2026Article
- Negative Contextual Valence Unmasks Altered Counterfactual Decision-Making in Major Depressive Disorder.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- CEST MRI reveals nicotine-induced alterations in glutamate-associated molecular connectivity in the mouse brain.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Article
- A computational mechanism linking momentary craving and decision-making in alcohol drinkers and cannabis users.Nature. Mental health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Beliefs have a powerful influence on our behavior, yet their neural mechanisms remain elusive. Here we investigate whether beliefs could impact brain activities in a way akin to pharmacological dose-dependent effects. Nicotine-dependent humans were told that nicotine strength in an electronic cigarette was either 'low', 'medium' or 'high', while nicotine content was held constant. After vaping, participants underwent functional neuroimaging and performed a decision-making task known to engage neural circuits affected by nicotine. Beliefs about nicotine strength induced dose-dependent responses in the thalamus, a key binding site for nicotine, but not in other brain regions such as the striatum. Nicotine-related beliefs also parametrically modulated the connectivity between the thalamus and ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a region important for decision-making. These findings reveal a high level of precision in the way beliefs influence the brain, offering mechanistic insights into humans' heterogeneous responses to drugs and a pivotal role of beliefs in addiction.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.