Molecular Mechanisms Associated with Nicotine Pharmacology and Dependence Christie D. Fowler, Jill R. Turner, and M. Imad Damaj Contents 1 Introduction 2 Basic Neurocircuitry of Nicotine Addiction 3 Role of Nicotinic Receptors in Nicotine Dependence and Brain Function 4 Modulatory Factors That Influence nAChR Expression and Signaling 5 Genomics and Genetics of Nicotine Dependence 5.1 Overview 5.2 Human and Animal Genetic Studies 5.3 Transcriptionally Adaptive Changes 6 Other Constituents in Nicotine and Tobacco Products Mediating Dependence 7 Therapeutic Approaches for Tobacco and Nicotine Dependence 7.1 Nicotine Replacement Therapies 7.2 Varenicline and Bupropion 7.3 Novel Approaches 8 Conclusion References Abstract Tobacco dependence is a leading cause of preventable disease and death world- wide. Nicotine, the main psychoactive component in tobacco cigarettes, has also C. D. Fowler Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA J. R. Turner Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA M. Imad Damaj (*) Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA Translational Research Initiative for Pain and Neuropathy at VCU, Richmond, VA, USA e-mail:
[email protected] # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, https://doi.org/10.1007/164_2019_252 C. D. Fowler et al. been garnering increased popularity in its vaporized form, as derived from e-cigarette devices. Thus, an understanding of the molecular mechanisms under- lying nicotine pharmacology and dependence is required to ascertain novel approaches to treat drug dependence. In this chapter, we review the field’s current understanding of nicotine’s actions in the brain, the neurocircuitry underlying drug dependence, factors that modulate the function of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, and the role of specific genes in mitigating the vulnerability to develop nicotine dependence.