title: Denicotinized versus average nicotine tobacco cigarette smoking differentially releases striatal dopamine.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nicotine has long been recognized as a necessary but insufficient component of tobacco cigarettes to maintain a psychophysiological need to smoke. This study examined venous plasma concentrations effects of nicotine in cigarette smoking after overnight abstinence to release striatal dopamine (DA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-two male smokers smoked either denicotinized (denic) or average nicotine (nic) cigarettes under single blind conditions. Each was given [(11)C]raclopride and scanned in a positron emission tomography (PET) facility.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Smoking either denic or nic cigarettes released striatal DA. Denic cigarette smoking released DA primarily in the right striatum, whereas nic cigarette smoking released DA in both striata, but especially in the left. Increases in venous plasma nicotine concentrations correlated positively with increased DA release in the left caudate nucleus. Smoking denic cigarettes reduced craving as much as smoking nic cigarettes. Craving reduction after nic tobacco smoking correlated with increases in plasma nicotine.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nonnicotine factors in tobacco smoking produce important right brain effects. Nicotine is a pharmacological factor during tobacco smoking that releases bilateral striatal DA, but more in the left brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5632, USA. efdabcde@umich.edu
authors.forename: Edward F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Domino
authors.forename: Lisong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: Joseph S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Domino
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guthrie
authors.forename: Heng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Koeppe
authors.forename: Jon-Kar
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Zubieta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000187:drug effects*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009538:Nicotine / Q000097:blood* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D020891:Raclopride / Q000378:metabolism; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D062789:Tobacco Products / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D020891:Raclopride; D009538:Nicotine; D004298:Dopamine