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Brain nicotinic receptors as emerging targets for drug addiction: Neurobiology to translational research

  • Shafiqur Rahman

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Drug addiction, a chronic relapsing disorder, is a serious public health problem around the world. A growing body of preclinical and clinical evidence suggests that mammalian brain nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), the heterogeneous family of ion channels, play a pivotal role in drug addiction, including nicotine and alcohol dependence. As a result, there is an increasing interest in developing nAChR-based therapies for the treatment of addictive disorders. The current review summarizes the important preclinical and clinical data, demonstrating the ability of nAChR ligands to modulate nicotine and alcohol-induced biobehavioral and neurochemical changes in laboratory animals and humans. Recent studies suggest that partial agonists and antagonists at nAChRs have therapeutic potential for the management of nicotine and alcohol dependence. The complexity of nAChRs and their regulation for the development of nAChR-based drug candidates as novel pharmacotherapy for other addictive disorders will also be discussed. Taken together, this review will provide new insights into nAChR-based compounds and offer innovative translational strategies for combating drug addictive disorders.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProgress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science
PublisherElsevier B.V.
Pages349-365
Number of pages17
EditionC
DOIs
StatePublished - 2011
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

NameProgress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science
NumberC
Volume98
ISSN (Print)1877-1173

Keywords

  • Alcohol
  • Drug addiction
  • Nicotine
  • Nicotinic receptors
  • Pharmacotherapy
  • Translational research

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