Investigating separate and joint effects of alcohol and tobacco on the nucleus accumbens
Tuesday, May 4, 2010 - 16:10
in Psychology & Sociology
The brain's nucleus accumbens (NAC) is a core region of the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic system and is interconnected with the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the prefrontal cortex. The mesocorticolimbic system is thought to be central to the reinforcing effects of many drugs and plays an important role in addiction. A new study has found that alcohol abuse elevated the expression of a distinct set of genes in the NAC and VTA, while nicotine blunted this effect in the VTA.