Lower Dopamine D2/3 Receptor Availability is Associated With Worse Verbal Learning and Memory in People Who Smoke Cigarettes [2023]

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Nicotine, the main psychoactive drug in tobacco, increases dopamine release in the brain by binding to nicotinic receptors. Over time, the excessive dopamine release results in downregulation of dopamine D2/3 receptors in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). This downregulation is correlated with the well-known cognitive deficits in people who smoke cigarettes, and since dopamine is known to be involved in memory and learning, the downregulation of these receptors is a likely explanation for these cognitive deficits.

Lower Dopamine D2/3 Receptor Availability is Associated With Worse Verbal Learning and Memory in People Who Smoke Cigarettes - PubMed

This is the first study to directly relate dopamine metrics in the prefrontal cortex to cognitive function in people who smoke cigarettes compared to healthy-controls. The current work included a well-characterized subject sample with regards to demographic and smoking variables, as well as a...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov