Wednesday, September 9, 2009
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 9 (HealthCare Tips) Researchers have found that nicotine, the addictive part in cigarettes, "tricks" the brain into creating memory associations between environmental cues and smoking actions. This could help explain why former smokers miss lighting up when they are in a bar or after a meal.
The findings from researchers at Baylor College of Medicine are in the Sept. 10 subject of the journal Neuron.
"Our brains normally make these associations between things that support our continuation and environmental cues so that we conduct behaviors leading to successful lives. The brain sends a reward signal when we act in a way that contribute to our well being," study co-author Dr. John A. Dani, professor of neuroscience at BCM said in a college news release. "However, nicotine commandeer this intuitive learning process in the brain so we begin to behave as though smoking is a positive action."
Dani said that environmental events linked with smoking can become cues that punctual the smoking urge. Those cues could include alcohol, a meal with friends or even the drive home from work.
Dani and Dr. Jianrong Tang, instructor of neuroscience at BCM and co-author of the report, recorded the brain activity of mice as they were exposed to nicotine.
The mice were allowed to roam through an tools with two compartments. In one compartment, they received nicotine. In the other, they got a saline solution. The researchers recorded how long the mice spent in each section and brain activity within the hippocampus, an area of the brain that creates new memories.
"The brain activity change was just remarkable," Dani said. "Compared to injections of saline, nicotine strengthened neuronal connections, sometimes up to 200 percent. This strengthening of connections underlies new memory formation."
Dani said understanding mechanisms that create memory could have implication in future research and treatments for memory disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, and for dopamine signaling disorders, such as Parkinson's disease.
The findings from researchers at Baylor College of Medicine are in the Sept. 10 subject of the journal Neuron.
"Our brains normally make these associations between things that support our continuation and environmental cues so that we conduct behaviors leading to successful lives. The brain sends a reward signal when we act in a way that contribute to our well being," study co-author Dr. John A. Dani, professor of neuroscience at BCM said in a college news release. "However, nicotine commandeer this intuitive learning process in the brain so we begin to behave as though smoking is a positive action."
Dani said that environmental events linked with smoking can become cues that punctual the smoking urge. Those cues could include alcohol, a meal with friends or even the drive home from work.
Dani and Dr. Jianrong Tang, instructor of neuroscience at BCM and co-author of the report, recorded the brain activity of mice as they were exposed to nicotine.
The mice were allowed to roam through an tools with two compartments. In one compartment, they received nicotine. In the other, they got a saline solution. The researchers recorded how long the mice spent in each section and brain activity within the hippocampus, an area of the brain that creates new memories.
"The brain activity change was just remarkable," Dani said. "Compared to injections of saline, nicotine strengthened neuronal connections, sometimes up to 200 percent. This strengthening of connections underlies new memory formation."
Dani said understanding mechanisms that create memory could have implication in future research and treatments for memory disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, and for dopamine signaling disorders, such as Parkinson's disease.
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