High Levels of Dopamine Activity in the Basal Ganglia of Cigarette Smokers

Salokangas, Raimo K. R.; Vilkman, Harry; Ilonen, Tuula; Taiminen, Tero; Bergman, Jörgen; Haaparanta, Merja; Solin, Olof; Alanen, A.; Syvälahti, Erkka; Hietala, Jarmo

doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.157.4.632

Cited by 150 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…In addition, smokers showed stronger T reflex magnitudes during rest, indicating increased sensitivity of the somatic motor system in smokers. These findings are in line with evidence for changes in dopaminergic systems and reward processing as a result of tobacco use (eg Martin-Sölch et al, 2001;Rose et al, 2003;Salokangas et al, 2000), and with evidence for increased locomotor activity after changes in the mesolimbic dopamine system by nicotine administration in rats (eg Ferrari et al, 2001). The observed differences between smokers and nonsmokers in the present study underline the importance to record smoking status in studies on the effect of dopamine on appetitive responses in humans.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

“…There is evidence from research on rats that nicotine affects dopaminergic function (eg Ferrari et al, 2001;Trauth et al, 2001), and in humans smoking has been related to greater dopamine activity in the basal ganglia (Salokangas et al, 2000). To investigate smoking as a possible mediating variable in the effect of levodopa on somatic motor activity, smokers and nonsmokers were compared on T reflex magnitude during sexual stimulation.…”

Section: Additional Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of a Single Dose of Levodopa on Sexual Response in Men and Women

Both

Everaerd

Laan

et al. 2004

Neuropsychopharmacol

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From animal research, there is ample evidence for a facilitating effect of dopamine on sexual behavior. In humans, little experimental research has been conducted on the inter-relation between dopamine and sexual response, even less so in women than in men. We investigated the effect of levodopa (100 mg) on sexual response in men and women following a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design. Genital and subjective sexual responses were measured as well as somatic motor system activity by means of Achilles tendon (T) reflex modulation. Genital and subjective sexual arousal were not affected by levodopa. However, the drug increased T reflex magnitude in response to sexual stimulation in men, but not in women. These results support the view that dopamine is involved in the energetic aspects of appetitive sexual behavior in men. The observed gender difference in the effect of levodopa is discussed in the perspective of possible dopamine-steroid interaction.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Additional Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of a Single Dose of Levodopa on Sexual Response in Men and Women

Both

Everaerd

Laan

et al. 2004

Neuropsychopharmacol

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“…Other functional imaging studies of the DA system have reported decreased D1 receptor density (Dagher et al, 2001), increased 18 F-DOPA uptake (a marker for increased DA turnover) (Salokangas et al, 2000a), and both decreased (Krause et al, 2002) and no alterations (Staley et al, 2001) in dopamine transporter binding in smokers.…”

Section: Brain Dopamine Responses To Nicotine and Smokingmentioning

confidence: 92%

Functional brain imaging of tobacco use and dependence

Brody

2006

Journal of Psychiatric Research

176

136

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While most cigarette smokers endorse a desire to quit smoking, only about 14% to 49% will achieve abstinence after 6 months or more of treatment. A greater understanding of the effects of smoking on brain function may (in conjunction with other lines of research) result in improved pharmacological (and behavioral) interventions. Many research groups have examined the effects of acute and chronic nicotine/cigarette exposure on brain activity using functional imaging; the purpose of this paper is to synthesize findings from such studies and present a coherent model of brain function in smokers. Responses to acute administration of nicotine/smoking include: a reduction in global brain activity; activation of the prefrontal cortex, thalamus, and visual system; activation of the thalamus and visual cortex during visual cognitive tasks; and increased dopamine (DA) concentration in the ventral striatum/nucleus accumbens. Responses to chronic nicotine/cigarette exposure include decreased monoamine oxidase (MAO) A and B activity in the basal ganglia and a reduction in α 4 β 2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) availability in the thalamus and putamen. Taken together, these findings indicate that smoking enhances neurotransmission through cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic circuits either by direct stimulation of nAChRs, indirect stimulation via DA release or MAO inhibition, or a combination of these factors. Activation of this circuitry may be responsible for the effects of smoking seen in tobacco dependent subjects, such as improvements in attentional performance, mood, anxiety, and irritability.

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“…In humans, tobacco use has been associated with both increased striatal dopamine synthesis capacity (Salokangas et al, 2000) and dopamine release in response to acute cigarette use in smokers (Brody et al, 2004;Le Foll et al, 2013). However, two studies found that acute nicotine use did not elicit a significant dopamine release in smokers (Barrett et al, 2004;Montgomery et al, 2007), although these did find that the subjective hedonic response to acute nicotine was related to dopamine release.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Dopamine Function in Cigarette Smokers: An [18F]-DOPA PET Study

Bloomfield

Pepper

Egerton

et al. 2014

Neuropsychopharmacol

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Tobacco addiction is a global public health problem. Addiction to tobacco is thought to involve the effects of nicotine on the dopaminergic system. Only one study has previously investigated dopamine synthesis capacity in cigarette smokers. This study, exclusively in male volunteers, reported increased dopamine synthesis capacity in heavy smokers compared with non-smokers. We sought to determine whether dopamine synthesis capacity was elevated in a larger sample of cigarette smokers that included females. Dopamine synthesis capacity was measured in 15 daily moderate smokers with 15 sex-and age-matched control subjects who had never smoked tobacco. Dopamine synthesis capacity (indexed as the influx rate constant K i cer ) was measured with positron emission tomography and 3,4-dihydroxy-6-[ 18 F]-fluoro-l-phenylalanine. There was no significant group difference in dopamine synthesis capacity between smokers and non-smoker controls in the whole striatum (t 28 ¼ 0.64, p ¼ 0.53) or any of its functional subdivisions. In smokers, there were no significant relationships between the number of cigarettes smoked per day and dopamine synthesis capacity in the whole striatum (r ¼ À 0.23, p ¼ 0.41) or any striatal subdivision. These findings indicate that moderate smoking is not associated with altered striatal dopamine synthesis capacity.

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High Levels of Dopamine Activity in the Basal Ganglia of Cigarette Smokers

Abstract: Smoking is related to greater dopamine activity in the human basal ganglia. Nicotine-induced dopamine activity may be a relevant mechanism in dependence on cigarette smoking.

Cited by 150 publications

References 13 publications

Effect of a Single Dose of Levodopa on Sexual Response in Men and Women

Effect of a Single Dose of Levodopa on Sexual Response in Men and Women

Functional brain imaging of tobacco use and dependence

Dopamine Function in Cigarette Smokers: An [18F]-DOPA PET Study

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