Reward Anticipation Is Differentially Modulated by Varenicline and Nicotine in Smokers.

ABSTRACT: Recidivism rates for cigarette smokers following treatment often exceed 80%. Varenicline is the most efficacious pharmacotherapy currently available with cessation rates of 25-35% following a year of treatment. Although the in vivo binding properties are well known, varenicline's neurobiological mechanisms of action are still poorly understood. Varenicline acts as a nicotinic receptor partial agonist or antagonist depending on the presence or absence of nicotine and has been implicated in the reduction of reward signaling more broadly. The current study probed anticipatory reward processing using a revised monetary incentive delay task during fMRI in cohorts of smokers and non-smokers who completed a two-drug, placebo-controlled, double-blind crossover study. All participants underwent ~17

SUBMITTER: Fedota JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4839527 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature