Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Graupner M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3744411 | biostudies-literature | 2013
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Graupner Michael M Maex Reinoud R Gutkin Boris B
PLoS computational biology 20130815 8
Nicotine exerts its reinforcing action by stimulating nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and boosting dopamine (DA) output from the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Recent data have led to a debate about the principal pathway of nicotine action: direct stimulation of the DAergic cells through nAChR activation, or disinhibition mediated through desensitization of nAChRs on GABAergic interneurons. We use a computational model of the VTA circuitry and nAChR function to shed light on this issue ...[more]