The Workings of Nicotine: Scientific Interplay with Physiological Dependence

Tobacco addiction is best considered a chronic disease, with most smokers requiring repeated interventions over time before achieving permanent abstinence. Nicotine, the major addictive substance in tobacco, activates nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) to initiate a series of adaptive changes at the cellular and circuit levels in brain, particularly the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Disregarding the countless ads and initiatives taken to bringing the detrimental effects of cigarette smoking to light, it may seem not understandable to some as to why certain people are not able to “kick” the habit and put it down for once. Having a father who has smoked since he was 16, I have always wondered if the extent of his addiction to smoking was truly something that could be given up for the sake of his health and others around him. In search for understanding in the addiction of millions over the world, I looked at the scientifically achieved findings of Dr. McGehee along with another supplemental article that slightly correlated with the information he was able to obtain through experimentation.

Interestingly enough, though nicotine has many negative factors, when looking into an article written titled Can Nicotine Be Good for you, it was noted that certain patients had felt as though nicotine presented positive psychiatric effects. Surprisingly, the positively felt affects of nicotine ranged greatly, especially having influence on cognition, mood, attention, and even memory. It was reported that patients with mental disabilities had also taken to smoking at much higher rates, expressing that nicotine had ameliorated certain symptoms.

            Found to correlate in the studies presented forth by University of Chicago’s speaker Daniel S.McGehee at Loyola University’s Neuroscience Seminar on February 23^rd, it was noted that nicotine was able to facilitate long term potentiation in the VTA dopamine neurons by increasing glutamate release via activation of specific terminals, suggesting that nicotine played a strong role in the pre-synaptic contributing in LTP. In his publishing, Nicotine Potentiation of Excitatory Inputs to Ventral Tegmental Area Dopamine Neurons, he further went on the express the much more complex findings of nicotine influence on excitatory synaptic strength. Correlating well with the article mentioned before, the nicotine-induced changes in the VTA were expressed in his findings bringing in light to the brain chemistry of those who rely heavily on the highly induced effects that nicotine brings forth.

With the article I read and Dr. McGehee’s findings presenting a scientific interplay, explaining the chemistry behind the physiological need for nicotine for some, I was able to better understand the daily implications of intake of nicotine that smokers might go through. With increased advancement in looking to mimic or block those regulated excitatory signals put forth by nicotine, the world of health-care has been constantly working towards finding replacements for cigarettes in things like nicotine gum or patches. With continued effort and consideration of findings like these, there is a bright, potential future in alleviating the addictions of smokers, looking to potentially eradicate the detrimental effects.

Article Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/06/opinion/sunday/can-nicotine-be-good-for-you.html
Speaker Source: Mao, Danyan, Keith Gallagher, and Daniel S. McGehee. “Nicotine Potentiation of Excitatory Inputs to VTA Dopamine Neurons.” The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 31.18 (2011): 6710–6720.PMC. Web. 30 April. 2016
Image Sources: https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/03/06/opinion/sunday/06fels/06fels-master768.jpg

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