Jl. Fisher et al., NICOTINE MODIFIES THE ACTIVITY OF VENTRAL TEGMENTAL AREA DOPAMINERGIC-NEURONS AND HIPPOCAMPAL GABAERGIC NEURONS, J PHYSL-PAR, 92(3-4), 1998, pp. 209-213
While trying to mimic the dose and time course of nicotine as it is ob
tained by a smoker, we found the following results. The initial arriva
l of even a low concentration of nicotine increased the firing rate of
dopaminergic neurons from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and increa
sed the spontaneous vesicular release of GABA from hippocampal neurons
. Longer exposure to nicotine caused variable, bur dramatic, desensiti
zation of nicotinic receptors and diminished the effects of nicotine.
The addictive properties of nicotine as well as its diverse effects on
cognitive function could be mediated through differences in activatio
n and desensitization of nicotinic receptors in various areas of the b
rain. ((C)Elsevier, Paris).