Nicotinic Receptor Contributions to Smoking: Insights from Human Studies and Animal Models

It is becoming increasingly evident that a variety of factors contribute to smoking behavior. Nicotine is a constituent of tobacco smoke that exerts its psychoactive effects via binding to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in brain. Human genetic studies have identified polymorphisms in nAC...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current addiction reports 2015-03, Vol.2 (1), p.33-46
Main Authors: Brunzell, Darlene H., Stafford, Alexandra M., Dixon, Claire I.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abstinence
Behavior
Brain
Drug withdrawal
Genes
Genotype & phenotype
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Neurology
Nicotine
Psychiatry
Section Editor
Smoking
Tobacco
Tobacco (AH Weinberger
Topical Collection on Tobacco
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Summary:It is becoming increasingly evident that a variety of factors contribute to smoking behavior. Nicotine is a constituent of tobacco smoke that exerts its psychoactive effects via binding to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in brain. Human genetic studies have identified polymorphisms in nAChR genes, which predict vulnerability to risk for tobacco dependence. In vitro studies and animal models have identified the functional relevance of specific polymorphisms. Together with animal behavioral models, which parse behaviors believed to contribute to tobacco use in humans, these studies demonstrate that nicotine action at a diversity of nAChRs is important for expression of independent behavioral phenotypes, which support smoking behavior.
ISSN:2196-2952
2196-2952
DOI:10.1007/s40429-015-0042-2