Neural pathway for nicotine withdrawal symptoms
Because unpleasant withdrawal symptoms fuel nicotine addiction’s high relapse rate, targeting their underlying mechanisms with treatments may promote continued abstinence from the drug. In a new JNeurosci paper, Alexis Monical and Daniel McGehee, from the University of Chicago, explored a neural pathway for nicotine withdrawal symptoms stemming from the interpeduncular nucleus (IPN) to the laterodorsal tegmentum (LDTg).
The researchers previously found that high doses of nicotine interact with the IPN to cause unpleasant effects that reduce intake of the drug in mice. Other researchers have linked the IPN to nicotine withdrawal symptoms. This nucleus inhibits ...