Interesting Facts About Nicotine Effects on the Brain

While the nicotine withdrawal process takes three days, it is far from over at that point. Long-term nicotine exposure has effects on the areas of the brain involved in motivation and literally re-wires the brain's reward system. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasant feelings, is released by these reward areas to encourage the body to repeat these behaviors. However, drugs like nicotine that stimulate the brain can bypass these normal reinforcement pathways, providing the same rewards for harmful behaviors as for beneficial ones.

The initial exposure to nicotine can be remembered by the brain, which will amplify the effects of the drug and boost the desire to have another cigarette, according to the study published in the August 2000 issue of Neuron.

What happens is that nicotine alters the connections between neurons using a process that is very similar to the cellular mechanisms that create memory.

Nicotine also increases the level of other neurotransmitters and chemicals that modulate how your brain works. For example, your brain makes more endorphins in response to nicotine. Endorphins are small proteins that are often called the body's natural pain killer. The chemical structure of endorphins is very similar to that of heavy-duty synthetic painkillers like morphine.

While you're using nicotine-containing products, your body adapts the way it works to compensate for the effects of the nicotine. . When you no longer have nicotine in your body, these physiological adaptations for nicotine remain. The article says that the result is that your body can't function the same way in the absence of the drug as it did before, at least in the short term, and they feel that this is why most people who try to quit cannot maintain it on their own.