1
In the United States, substance use disorders are a leading cause of death among young people. Treatments such as deep brain stimulation hold promise for helping people overcome addiction, but many questions remain about what brain areas should be targeted. Researchers are gaining new insights from patients who are no longer addicted to nicotine after experiencing a brain lesion, such as a stroke. Using a new technique known as lesion network mapping, researchers have mapped addiction remission to entire brain circuits rather than specific brain regions, pointing to new targets for treatment.