中国网站品牌栏目（频道）
US researchers have found a way to predict how successful a smoker will be at quitting by using an MRI scan to look for activity in a region of the brain associated with behavior change.
The scans were performed on 28 heavy smokers who had joined an anti-smoking program, according to the study published in the journal Health Psychology.
Participants were asked to watch a series of commercials about quitting smoking while a magnetic resonance imaging machine scanned their brains for activity.
After each ad, subjects in the study "rated how it affected their intention to quit”, researchers explained.
Those who showed activity in the medial prefrontal cortex during the ads were "significantly linked to reductions in smoking behavior" in the month that followed, regardless of how the people said they were affected by the ad.
Lead researcher Emily Falk said researchers would next try to determine which kinds of messages were most effective by matching brain activity to the ads.
The study was funded by the US National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Renee Haines is an editor and broadcaster at China Daily. Renee has more than 15 years of experience as a newspaper editor, radio station anchor and news director, news-wire service reporter and bureau chief, magazine writer, book editor and website consultant. She came to China from the United States.
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