of brain in nicotine addiction
Scientists suspect that one of the keys to nicotine addiction lies within the brain at the receptors where nicotine first takes effect.
These nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, the initial site of action of nicotine in the brain, will continue to be the focus of research of Julie Staley, assistant professor of psychiatry, and her group, in the next phase of studies funded by a grant of over $9 million to the Yale Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center (see related story). Staley's project is one of four major projects funded by the renewal. There will be numerous smaller projects as well.
In the initial round of funding, Staley's group successfully evaluated a radiotracer (a drug tagged with radioactivity) that allows researchers to take pictures of where nicotine acts in the brain. The researchers found that the radiotracer could be safely used in humans.
They also determined the most reliable way to measure the drug in the human brain and determine approximately how long residual nicotine or active by-products remained in the brain after the last cigarette.
Masahiro Fujita, then assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale, was the lead author of the paper on the radiotracer which appeared in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine in February 2002. Edythe D. London of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and University of California at Los Angeles, and Dr. Robert B. Innis of the Molecular Imaging Branch of the National Institutes of Mental Health, also played important roles in the development of the radiotracer, along with other researchers, Staley says.
"In our upcoming studies, we will evaluate what happens to the nicotine acetylcholine receptor in response to chronic smoking and whether this receptor is regulated differently between men and women," explains Staley, who is also director of Psychiatry SPECT Imaging, in the Brain Imaging Division of the psychiatry department. "And, because of the known effects of nicotine on mood and cognition, other studies are also using this radiotracer to determine if this receptor is altered in Alzheimer's disease, alcoholism, major depression and schizophrenia."
Stephanie O'Malley, the principal investigator for the Yale tobacco center, says Staley's research fits well with the overall objectives of the center, which include investigating new treatments for smokers who find it hard to quit. The center will build upon and extend research findings from ongoing studies that suggest women, people worried about their weight, people who drink, and people who are depressed and/or anxious have a particularly hard time quitting.
"An understanding of the regulatory effects of smoking and acute abstinence on these key neurochemical targets in the brain may lead to the identification of better pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation in men and women," says O'Malley, who is also a professor and director of the Substance Abuse Research Division in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale.
-- By Pem McNerney
T H I S
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Scientists discover fossil of ancient sea spider species
Center to continue studies on smoking with $9 million grant
Researchers have linked mitochondrial mutation . . .
Yale and presidential politics in 2004Bulldogs part of presidential ticket for 32 years now
Scholar has advised politicians on how to 'get out the vote'
Yale debate champ tapped to assess candidates' face-offs
Grant supports F&ES students from underrepresented areas
Study finds that estrogen does not always help memory
Scientists devise a method to measure the age of Martian meteorites
Researchers are studying role of brain in nicotine addiction
Performance at Long Wharf marks launch of O'Neill at Yale project
Beekman Cannon, advocate of musical life at Yale
Divinity School alumni are honored for ministry and service
Yale Books in Brief
Campus Notes
Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News
Bulletin Board|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines
Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs|News Releases|
E-Mail Us|Yale Home