Canadian researchers have discovered how the brain processes nicotine's rewarding effects, and this knowledge could lead to the development of therapies to prevent nicotine addiction, HealthDay News reported Aug. 5.

Steven Laviolette of the University of Western Ontario's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and colleagues have identified a specific receptor subtype in the brain's mesolimbic dopamine system that controls an individual's initial sensitivity to nicotine's addictive properties. They were then able to manipulate the receptors to control whether nicotine is processed as rewarding or aversive.

This discovery could be critical to the understanding of why some individuals' initial exposures to tobacco are rewarding and lead to addiction, while other individuals quickly turn away from its use. "We wanted to explore that difference," said Laviolette, who works in the medical school's department of anatomy and cell biology.

The researchers say the discoveries regarding the dopamine receptor subtype could assist in the development of therapies for both nicotine addiction and for withdrawal symptoms experienced by smokers who try to quit. 

The research results are published in the current issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.