I am interested in the effects of brain lesions within emotion-related circuitry on certain aspects of cigarette smoking behavior.
I am just about to defend my thesis, which looks at the effects of lesions in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex on smoking pleasure and urges and real-life smoking behavior. I have also found that lesions in the insular cortex increase the likelihood that it is easy to quit smoking.
“I choose to come to the University of Iowa mainly because of they friendly and integrated atmosphere that the faculty and students share with one another. Overall Iowa City lends itself graduate life very well. There are plenty of coffee shops and other places to study as well as plenty of entertainment at night.”