The effect of nicotine on striatal dopamine release in man: A [11C]raclopride PET study

In common with many addictive substances and behaviors nicotine activates the mesolimbic dopaminergic system. Brain microdialysis studies in rodents have consistently shown increases in extrasynaptic DA levels in the striatum after administration of nicotine but PET experiments in primates have give...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Synapse (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2007-08, Vol.61 (8), p.637-645
Main Authors: Montgomery, Andrew J., Lingford-Hughes, Anne R., Egerton, Alice, Nutt, David J., Grasby, Paul M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
[11C] raclopride
Adult
Affect - drug effects
Blood Pressure - drug effects
Corpus Striatum - diagnostic imaging
Corpus Striatum - drug effects
Corpus Striatum - metabolism
Dopamine - metabolism
Dopamine Antagonists
Female
Heart Rate - drug effects
Humans
Male
man
nicotine
Nicotine - pharmacology
Nicotinic Agonists - pharmacology
PET
Positron-Emission Tomography
Primates
Raclopride
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Summary:In common with many addictive substances and behaviors nicotine activates the mesolimbic dopaminergic system. Brain microdialysis studies in rodents have consistently shown increases in extrasynaptic DA levels in the striatum after administration of nicotine but PET experiments in primates have given contradicting results. A recent PET study assessing the effect of smoking in humans showed no change in [11C]raclopride binding in the brain, but did find that “hedonia” correlated with a reduction in [11C]raclopride binding suggesting that DA may mediate the positive reinforcing effects of nicotine. In this experiment we measured the effect of nicotine, administered via a nasal spray, on DA release using [11C]raclopride PET, in 10 regular smokers. There was no overall change in [11C]raclopride binding after nicotine administration in any of the striatal regions examined. However, the individual change in [11C]raclopride binding correlated with change in subjective measures of “amused” and “happiness” in the associative striatum (AST) and sensorimotor striatum (SMST). Nicotine concentration correlated negatively with change in BP in the limbic striatum. Nicotine had significant effects on cardiovascular measures including pulse rate, systolic blood pressure (BPr), and diastolic BPr. Baseline [11C]raclopride binding potential (BP) in the AST correlated negatively with the Fagerström score, an index of nicotine dependence. These results support a role for the DA system in nicotine addiction, but reveal a more complex relationship than suggested by studies in animals. Synapse 61:637–645, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSN:0887-4476
1098-2396
DOI:10.1002/syn.20419