(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- When a person tries a cigarette for the first time, he is either completely turned off by it or he becomes quickly addicted. New research now reveals why this difference exists.
Study authors say nicotine interacts with a variety of neurochemical pathways within the brain. Investigators say they found one pathway in particular that uses the neurotransmitter dopamine to transmit signals related to nicotine's rewarding properties. This pathway is called the mesolimbic dopamine system. It is involved with other addictions such as drugs and alcohol.
Investigators identified the specific dopamine receptor subtype that controls the brain's initial sensitivity to nicotine's rewarding and addictive properties. They say if you manipulate this receptor, you can change whether nicotine is rewarding or aversive.
"Importantly, our findings may explain an individual's vulnerability to nicotine addiction, and may point to new pharmacological treatments for the prevention of it, and the treatment of nicotine withdrawal," says Steven Laviolette of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry.
SOURCE: Journal of Neuroscience, 2008
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