Can you think your way out of addiction? Maybe not yet, but the latest results from the burgeoning field of research that examines how mental training can alter the brain—and therefore behavior—say the rest of the answer may be "but probably soon."

In a new study, just published online in Nature Neuroscience and scheduled for the print version later this year, Elizabeth Phelps of New York University and colleagues measured how volunteers responded physiologically (including through brain activity) to a cue that, they were told, meant they were about to win $4. Specifically, the volunteers were shown either a blue square or a yellow square for four seconds; the blue meant they'd win the $4.

As expected, seeing the blue square lit up a region in their brains called the striatum; activity there is linked to the expectation of reward. It's the part of your brain that sits up and pays attention when you think of the barista handing you your iced coffee on a sweltering day, your significant other walking through the door … or the thought of a hit of pot, cocaine or other illegal drug.