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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences
Investigating The Role Of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Agonists In Lung Cancer Progression And Chemosensitivity In The Context Of Treating Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy, Sarah L. Kyte
Theses and Dissertations
While cancer chemotherapy continues to significantly contribute to the number of cancer survivors, exposure to these drugs can often result in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), a consequence of peripheral nerve fiber dysfunction or degeneration. CIPN is characterized by sensory symptoms in the hands and feet, such as numbness, burning, and allodynia, resulting in an overall decrease in quality of life. Paclitaxel (Taxol), a microtubule poison that is commonly used to treat breast, lung, and ovarian cancers, has been found to cause CIPN in 59-78% of cancer patients. There is currently no effective preventative or therapeutic treatment for this side effect, …
Understanding Nicotine Addition: Dependency As A Result Of Maladaptive Brain Structure, Nate Thomas
Understanding Nicotine Addition: Dependency As A Result Of Maladaptive Brain Structure, Nate Thomas
AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship
Nicotine addiction is the most prevalent, destructive dependency found in our culture. Despite its well-documented damaging health risks, nicotine use is still widely accepted and could be conceptualized as a social epidemic. Much of this acceptance may stem from nicotine’s lack of debilitating cognitive effects, as compared to those of other abused drugs. However, what may reign dominantly over nicotine’s legality is simple cultural precedent: tobacco has never been illegal and holds a place in human history. Therefore, attempting to alter this would prove highly unpopular and unsuccessful. This macroscopic irrationality, a blind favor for cultural precedents, parallels the irrational …
Beta 2 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Contributions To Anxiety-Like Behavior, Shawn Anderson
Beta 2 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Contributions To Anxiety-Like Behavior, Shawn Anderson
Theses and Dissertations
Nicotine is a major psychoactive ingredient in tobacco that is thought to promote smoking behavior via nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the brain. Given reports that people smoke to relieve anxiety and that anxiety precipitates relapse, the overarching goal of this dissertation research is to assess beta 2 subunit containing nAChR (beta2*nAChR) contributions to anxiety-like behavior. Nicotine’s activity at beta2*nAChRs is concentration-dependent, with high concentrations facilitating activation followed by rapid desensitization and low concentrations preferentially desensitizing beta2*nAChRs; hence, activation or inhibition of beta2*nAChRs may support smoking behavior. Rodent studies reveal that nicotine affects anxiety-like behavior dose-dependently: low doses promote anxiolysis- …
Genetic Dissection Of Quantitative Trait Loci For Substances Of Abuse, Jo Lynne Harenza
Genetic Dissection Of Quantitative Trait Loci For Substances Of Abuse, Jo Lynne Harenza
Theses and Dissertations
It has been reported that an individual’s initial level of response to a drug might be predictive of his or her future risk of becoming dependent, thus basal gene expression profiles underlying those drug responses may be informative for both predicting addiction susceptibility and determining targets for intervention. This dissertation research aims to elucidate genetic risk factors underlying acute alcohol and nicotine dependence phenotypes using mouse genetic models of addiction. Phenotyping, brain region-specific mRNA expression profiling, and genetic mapping of a recombinant inbred panel of over 25 mouse strains were performed in order to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) harboring …
The Role Of Magl Inhibition In Nicotine Withdrawal And Reward, Pretal Muldoon
The Role Of Magl Inhibition In Nicotine Withdrawal And Reward, Pretal Muldoon
Theses and Dissertations
ROLE OF MAGL INHIBITION IN NICOTINE WITHDRAWAL AND REWARD. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. by Pretal Ishvarlal Patel Muldoon Director: M. Imad Damaj, PhD Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology Tobacco use is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths worldwide. Nicotine, the main psychoactive component of tobacco, sustains and initiates tobacco addiction. Cessation of nicotine induces a dependence withdrawal syndrome. Recent in vivo studies indicate that the endocannabinoid (EC) system modulates both nicotine reward and withdrawal. The purpose of this proposal is to …
Investigating The Role Of Α6 And Α4 Containing Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors In Nicotine And Cocaine Conditioned Place Preference Tests In Mice., Sarah Sanjakdar
Theses and Dissertations
Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors modulate both cholinergic and non-cholinergic synaptic transmission. Our research concerns α6 and α4 neuronal nicotinic subunits because they often co-assemble with the β2 subunit, which has abundant expression in the CNS and previous work has demonstrated that β2* nAChRs are involved in nicotine and cocaine reward. α6β2* and α4β2* nAChRs are highly expressed in midbrain, which is known to be critical for the incentive salience associated with natural and artificial (drug) reward. Our goal was to assess the role of α6β2* and α4β2* nAChRs in nicotine and cocaine reward using an unbiased conditioned place preference (CPP) …
Intracellular Signaling Contributions To Behaviors Relevant To Nicotine Addiction, Lauren Thompson
Intracellular Signaling Contributions To Behaviors Relevant To Nicotine Addiction, Lauren Thompson
Theses and Dissertations
Nicotine is the primary addictive substance in tobacco, and most smokers who quit will relapse within a year. Evidence shows that cigarette craving increases over time, termed “incubation.” The purpose of these studies was to see if protracted abstinence from chronic nicotine increases rat self-administration, an animal model with good face validity for human tobacco use, and if nicotine self-administration during daily exposure/after 8+ days of abstinence is regulated by extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell or anterior cingulate cortex (PFC). ERK kinase inhibitor U0126 was infused in the NAc shell or PFC of Long …
The Impact Of Adolescent Nicotine Exposure On Drug Dependence In Adulthood, Mai Alajaji
The Impact Of Adolescent Nicotine Exposure On Drug Dependence In Adulthood, Mai Alajaji
Theses and Dissertations
Nicotine is one of the first and most commonly abused drugs in adolescence. According to The Center for Disease Control, every day more than 6000 adolescents try their first cigarette and over 3000 of them become daily smokers. Smoking among adolescents is a strong predictor of future drug abuse and dependence in adulthood. A number of studies has suggests that adolescents pre-exposed to nicotine may suffer permanent disruption of the brain’s reward systems through changes in dopamine receptor function. We hypothesize that nicotine exposure during adolescence causes long lasting neurobiological alterations that increase the likelihood of cocaine use in adulthood. …
Identification Of Pharmacological And Molecular Mechanisms Involved In Nicotine Withdrawal, Kia Jackson
Identification Of Pharmacological And Molecular Mechanisms Involved In Nicotine Withdrawal, Kia Jackson
Theses and Dissertations
Tobacco dependence is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Despite currently available smoking cessation therapies, there is a high rate of relapse in smoking among those attempting to quit. While the somatic signs of nicotine withdrawal (insomnia, increased appetite, weight gain) contribute to the continuation of smoking behavior, it has been hypothesized that the affective signs (depression, anxiety, craving, irritability) are greater motivators of relapse and continued tobacco use. There are few studies that assess the molecular and receptor-mediated mechanisms of nicotine withdrawal; therefore, our studies focus on identifying the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subtypes and …
Examining The Behavioral And Molecular Aspects Of Adolescent Nicotine Dependence: Implications For Vulnerability To Drugs Of Abuse, Dena Heath Kota
Examining The Behavioral And Molecular Aspects Of Adolescent Nicotine Dependence: Implications For Vulnerability To Drugs Of Abuse, Dena Heath Kota
Theses and Dissertations
Approximately 200 million men and 100 million women smoke worldwide. In the United States, an estimated 25.9 million men (23.9 percent) and 20.7 million women (18.1 percent) are smokers. The commencement of smoking at a young age is thought to increase addiction liability, decrease the probability of successful cessation, and correlate with a higher number of cigarettes smoked per day. Studies from the World Health Organization indicate that between 80,000 and 100,000 children start smoking every day worldwide. These statistics suggest that adolescence is a critical phase for developing nicotine dependence. The work in this dissertation contributes to the further …