Jed Rose

..The results also highlight the likely role of thalamic gating processes as well as striatal reward and corticolimbic regulatory pathways in the maintenance of cigarette addiction...

..In addition to unimodal therapies, treatment combinations will be discussed that might more effectively block cigarette reward and thereby further enhance smoking abstinence...

..We hypothesized that smoking in the presence of continuous levels of nicotine would attenuate the reinforcing effects of cigarette smoking and lead to a decline in dependence on inhaled nicotine, thus facilitating cessation...

..These include constituents that provide reinforcing sensory stimulation, components that minimize excessive irritation from inhaled nicotine and other pharmacologically active compounds in cigarette smoke...

..For these reasons, smokers' dependence on cigarette smoking, or the resistance of NDS to becoming dependent, cannot be explained solely by a faster brain nicotine accumulation...

..Nicotine and non-nicotine components of cigarette smoke contribute to its reinforcing effects; however, the specific role of each component in maintaining behavior has not yet been elucidated...

..These assessments, taken together, can help match most smokers with optimal NRT doses and help rapidly identify some who may be better treated using other methods...

..Tobacco addiction may thus be seen as a complex neuropsychopharmacological disorder; further progress in smoking cessation treatment may require that we address the multiple molecular and brain components of this addiction...

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..Further trials of this promising nicotine inhalation technology are warranted to assess its safety and efficacy in smoking cessation treatment or harm reduction approaches...

..Further exploration is warranted of the use of silver-based preparations as a short-term adjunct to smoking cessation treatment...

..Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) offers a noninvasive means to reversibly affect brain cortical activity, which can be applied to testing hypotheses about the causal role of SFG in modulating craving...

..CONCLUSIONS: Mecamylamine seems to modify both the pharmacokinetic profile of alcohol and the rewarding effects of alcohol in healthy volunteers...

..5-HT mechanisms play critical roles in the maintenance of nicotine self-administration. Better understanding of those roles may help lead to new 5-HT-based treatments for tobacco addiction...

..NMDA glutamate treatments may be particularly useful in helping lighter smokers successfully quit smoking, highlighting the need for diverse treatments for different types of smokers...

..Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed...

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..A dopamine receptor 4 variable number tandem repeat (DRD4 VNTR) polymorphism has been related to reactivity to smoking cues among smokers, but the effect of this genetic variation on brain responses to smoking cues has not been evaluated...

..Sazetidine-A [6-(5(((S)-azetidine-2-yl)methoxy)pyridine-3-yl)hex-5-yn-1-ol] is a novel compound that potently and selectively desensitizes alpha4beta2 nicotinic receptors with only modest receptor activation...

..Exposure to smoking-related cues can trigger relapse in smokers attempting to maintain abstinence...

..Saz-A, which is a selective alpha4beta2-desensitizing agent and partial agonist, effectively reduces nicotine self-administration. This type of treatment holds promise for a new therapy to aid smoking cessation...

..These findings provide further evidence that reactivity to conditioned drug cues is multiply determined and suggest that smoking cessation treatments designed to reduce cue reactivity focus on each of these variables...

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..Individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) smoke at higher rates than the general population; however, little is known about the mechanisms underlying this comorbidity...

..The results of this preliminary study suggest that controlled deep breathing may be useful for relieving symptoms of smoking withdrawal...

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..These results highlight the potent interaction between ethanol and nicotinic systems, and suggest that ethanol can potentiate the rewarding effects of nicotine as well as offset some of the effects of a nicotinic antagonist...

..A similar trend was observed for negative affect. These results suggest that mecamylamine can moderate smoking cue-induced emotional responses in smokers...

..Thus, animal models of nicotine dependence may need to be employed in conjunction with self-administration procedures in order to duplicate the effects of mecamylamine observed in studies of human smokers...

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..v. nicotine and denicotinized smoke approximated the effects of the usual brand. The results of this study underscore the importance of both sensorimotor aspects of smoking and the pharmacologic effects of nicotine in tobacco dependence...

..Although the great majority of tobacco addiction begins during adolescence, little is known about differential nicotine effects in adolescents versus adults...

..The effects of acute nicotine administration and smoking on brain function were investigated in two studies, with the primary goal of identifying neural systems that mediate these effects...

..These results are consistent with previous ambulatory findings regarding mood in smokers but also underscore that, in certain populations, mood and symptom variables may be significantly associated with ad lib smoking...

..These molecules may be relevant to tobacco addiction and affective symptoms...

..Despite established links between nicotine dependence and depression, little research has examined the effects of nicotine on depression symptoms...

..H(1) antagonists may be a promising avenue to explore for new treatments to aid smoking cessation...

..These results suggest that smoking abstinence significantly increases errors of response inhibition and that the magnitude of this increase is related to trait impulsivity and nicotine intake variables...

..Further studies should determine whether similar results are obtained in naturalistic environments...

..However, associations between brain structure and smoking cessation treatment outcomes have not been reported...

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..4% vs. 21.9%). No serious adverse events were attributable to the investigational product. Quest plus NRT offers promise as a new smoking cessation treatment...

..Smoking remains a major public health problem. Twin studies indicate that the ability to quit smoking is substantially heritable, with genetics that overlap modestly with the genetics of vulnerability to dependence on addictive substances...

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..All measures demonstrated good test-retest reliability. Objective measures of smoking were consistently intercorrelated and should be the preferred outcome measures in studies testing strategies to reduce smoking...

..In many cases, such discrepancies could be attributed to the complex variables comprising species-specific in vivo responses to acute or chronic nicotine exposure...

..Moreover, the results will provide useful information about the potential efficacy of two aerosol techniques in smoking cessation treatment...

..The results will lead to a better understanding of the role of pharmacologic and sensory/behavioral cues in nicotine addiction and smoking cessation. ..