Neural bases of pharmacological treatment of nicotine dependence - insights from functional brain imaging: a systematic review.

Background: Nicotine dependence is difficult to treat, and the biological mechanisms that are involved are not entirely clear. There is an urgent need to develop better drugs and more effective treatments for clinical practice. A critical step towards accelerating progress in medication development is to understand the neurobehavioral effects of pharmacotherapies on clinical characteristics associated with nicotine dependence.