Many of the brain's reward systems converge on the nucleus accumbens, a region richly
innervated by excitatory, inhibitory, and modulatory afferents representing the circuitry …

The tragic health effects of nicotine addiction highlight the importance of investigating the
cellular mechanisms of this complex behavioral phenomenon. The chain of cause and effect …

A single nicotine exposure increases dopamine levels in the mesolimbic reward system for
hours, but nicotine concentrations experienced by smokers desensitize nAChRs on …

Ghrelin stimulates appetite, increases food intake and causes adiposity by mechanisms that
include direct actions on the brain. Previously, we showed that intracerebroventricular …

Nicotine, the primary psychoactive component of tobacco smoke, produces diverse
neurophysiological, motivational and behavioural effects through several brain regions and …

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) has long been known to be involved in the mediation of complex
behavioral responses. Considerable research efforts are directed towards refining the …

Abstract The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the global adult
population smokes. Because tobacco use is on the rise in developing countries, death …

The central cholinergic system includes the basal forebrain nuclei, mainly projecting to the
cortex, the mesopontine tegmental nuclei, mainly projecting to the thalamus and subcortical …

Drug addiction is a brain disorder caused by the repetitive use of various chemicals which
alter normal functioning of the central nervous system with consequent behavioral …

It is becoming increasingly apparent that there is a degree of neurochemical overlap
between the reward systems and those regulating energy balance. We therefore …