Nicotine Improves Brain Function In Schizophrenics

An anonymous reader suggests a Cosmos Magazine note that nicotine has been shown to enhance attention and memory in schizophrenics. Research is now aimed at developing new treatments that could relieve symptoms and prevent smoking-related deaths. "A strong link between schizophrenia and smoking — with over three times as many schizophrenics smoking (70 to 90%) as the population at large — prompted scientists to investigate the link. Researchers led by Ruth Barr, a psychiatrist at Queen's University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, set out to find if the nicotine in cigarettes was helping patients to overcome their difficulties with cognitive function, such as planning and memory in social and work settings."

Comments

Causation or Correlation?

[lobiusmoop]

I would have thought smoking would bring on mental problems in the first place rather than be a palliative. Smokers have reduced lung function, less oxygen in the blood, which I think would lead to a more poorly functioning brain (as well as other organs), leading to things like depression and other mental problems.

Re:Finally, a reason.

[Marcos Eliziario]

No. She didn't. despite what the voices told ya, she didn't try to kill you.

Re:Finally, a reason.

[TheTurtlesMoves]

The swinging machete and police that came out to arrest her are not "voices" in my head. It really is a true story...