Mechanisms and genetic factors underlying co-use of nicotine and alcohol or other drugs of abuse.

ABSTRACT: Concurrent use of tobacco and alcohol or psychostimulants represents a major public health concern, with use of one substance influencing consumption of the other. Co-abuse of these drugs leads to substantial negative health outcomes, reduced cessation, and high economic costs, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Epidemiological data suggest that tobacco use during adolescence plays a particularly significant role. Adolescence is a sensitive period of development marked by major neurobiological maturation of brain regions critical for reward processing, learning and memory, and executive function. Nicotine exposure during this time produces a unique and long-lasting vulnerability to subsequent substance use, likely via actions at cholinergic, dopaminergic, and serotonergic

SUBMITTER: Cross SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5493323 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature