Food and drug cues activate similar brain regions: A meta-analysis of functional MRI studies

► Food cues trigger hunger and feeding, and smoking cues trigger craving and relapse in smokers. ► Responses in the appetitive brain regions to food and smoking cues have not been adequately compared. ► Comparing food and smoking cue response will clarify mechanisms of natural and drug reward systems. ► Using meta-analyses, we found that food and smoking cues activate comparable brain networks. ► This is consistent with the theory that cues are conditioned incentives.