Neuropharmacological/Cognitive Aspects of Tobacco Smoking

Domino Edward F.

doi:10.11253/ninchishinkeikagaku1999.7.1

The motives for continued tobacco smoking, in spite of well known, widely publicized health risks, are complex. Most drugs of abuse, including nicotine, are reinforcing and act via dopamine release in nucleus accumbens in the limbic system of the brain. However, this does not explain in simple lay language why some people who smoke tobacco become addicted. Tobacco smoking does not produce an obvious“high” like smoking crack cocaine or marijuana, etc. One motivation smokers have to smoke is to avoid unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. The smoking withdrawal syndrome is associated with impairment of cognition. Relief of withdrawal symptoms is one reason smokers state that their mental performance is improved after smoking(normalization). However, there is also objective evidence that after smoking smokers are more alert and concentrate better(stimulation). Smokers who are not in withdrawal also have improvements in cognition after nicotine/smoking. Nicotine also improves information processing in nonsmokers. Both animal and human data indicate there is a role of nicotine cholinergic receptors in cognitive function. Behavioral and electrophysiological studies in our laboratory have been conducted in separate groups of male and female adult tobacco smokers and nonsmoker controls. After varying periods of abstinence(6-15hours)tobacco smoking improves visual tracking behavior, quantitativee lectroencephalographic and evoked potential measurements. The results obtained indicate that tobacco smoking produces neurophar macological changes consistent with cognitive improvement.

Neuropharmacological/Cognitive Aspects of Tobacco Smoking

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