Scientists in the US have found a way to stop mice addicted to nicotine from suffering anxiety when their supply is cut off.
It's hoped their findings, which focus on a rarely before studied "stress pathway" in the brain, could lead to new techniques in helping smokers quit.
"Nicotine withdrawal symptoms are major factors that contribute to the low success rates of quit attempts," the scientists wrote in the study, published in today's issue of journal Nature Communications.
"In particular, increased anxiety during nicotine cessation is a prominent affective withdrawal symptom, yet little is known [about what causes] anxiety during nicotine withdrawal or [how chronic nicotine use leads to] the anxiogenic effects of nicotine withdrawal."
Most research in the past has looked at the traditional addiction and reward pathways in the central nervous system. Instead, Andrew Tapper of the University of Massachusetts and his team looked at something called the "habenulo-interpeduncular pathway", a group of brain nerve cells.
After getting some mice addicted to nicotine, the scientists found they were able to control their level of anxiety during withdrawal – measured by how many marbles they buried in half an hour – by blocking or activating certain neurons in the pathway.
"By identifying the specific molecules that activate this pathway in nicotine-dependent mice, [the] study suggests a novel therapeutic target to prevent anxiety during nicotine withdrawal," the authors state.
The full study can be read on the Nature website.
3 News
source: newshub archive
