So , let's talk about what those effects are . And let's do that by dividing the effects of nicotine into effects on the brain . So everything from the neck up and on the body , the so-called central nervous system and the periphery .
Now , there are a lot of different nicotinic acetylcholine receptors . But for those of you that wanna know you aficionados or if you're ultra curious about this , the main effects of nicotine in the brain are mediated by nicotine binding to the so called alpha four beta two receptor , alpha four beta two receptor . Even if you don't care about receptor subtypes , that's gonna come up later when we discuss why nicotine suppresses appetite .
We're talking about in a moment . Now , within the brain , nicotine binds to this alpha four beta two receptor in various locations in the brain . And there are three and maybe 1/4 that we talk about neurochemical effects of nicotine after you ingest it .
And there are a bunch of different ones on a bunch of different tissues and the differences in those receptors dictate . What sorts of effects the nicotine will have on those tissues . So , let's talk about what those effects are .
And so this is like pushing on the accelerator for dopamine , but also removing the brake . So there's a two pronged effect of nicotine on reinforcement reward , dopamine related pathways , the feel good motivation pathways and that is an increase in dopamine and a decrease in Gaba . And again , that's all mediated through this mesolimbic reward pathway involving the ventral tegmental area and the nucleus accumbens .
