Smoking Causes Chemical Dependency to Nicotine.
When you smoke, nicotine enters the blood stream and reaches the brain within ten to twenty seconds. Nicotine then binds to neural receptors and activates neural activity in the brain. (Neurons become active and pass on messages that will activate other neurons.)
The neurons triggered by nicotine are all connected to larger neural networks, such as those contained within the primal area of the brain known as the Basal Ganglia. One such network of neurons within the Basal Ganglia is of particular importance when it comes to understanding nicotine addiction, the human brain’s motivational reward system.
Once triggered into action, the reward center releases into the brain, the chemical dopamine. A chemical that causes us to feel pleasure and satisfaction. The reward center of the brain influences our behaviors and is typically called into action whenever we perform basic survival functions like eating, drinking or having sex.
Each time nicotine is received, the brain’s reward center is activated and the behavior of smoking is again reinforced as being a positive experience. After a few cigarettes, stronger neural pathways which expect the delivery of nicotine begin to develop throughout the brain. Over time, the brain begins to treat nicotine as necessary for our survival, not unlike food and water.
Given that nicotine leaves the body quickly, the brain needs access to a constant supply of nicotine in order to fill the receptors that keep the dopamine pathways active. As nicotine levels drop, so do dopamine levels. The outcome of this is the physical sensation we refer to as cravings for nicotine and the cigarettes that provide it.
To make matters worse, a process called up-regulation occurs the moment you start smoking. Up-regulation is when the number of receptors on a neurons dendrites increase. This means that more nicotine is required for a neuron to trigger the pathways that lead to the reward centre of the brain and release dopamine. The more you smoke, the more often you will need to smoke in order to maintain a satisfied feeling.
The Long Term Effect of Nicotine Addiction.
Once a smoker is chemically dependent on nicotine, the addiction progressively worsens. As time goes on, neural pathways begin to link cigarettes to more and more behaviors or actions that occur in the outside world.
Not only do these pathways grow in number, they are continuously reinforced and grow in strength. Eventually, the brain develops an incredibly strong and complex web of neural pathways that form connections to almost every emotion and external scenario imaginable.
A packet a day, twenty year smoker, has advanced chronic brain disease. Giving up the smokes is a lot more complicated than simply choosing to not light up. Thankfully, as with any treatable disease, a choice to seek treatment and undergo a healing process can lead to recovery.
In the final tutorial, we will explore the wonder of plasticity and down-regulation, and how by promoting these physiological events, a path to recovery is 100% achievable.
The below You Tube clips further demonstrate how addiction works.
Next Tutorial.
The Path To Nicotine Addiction Recovery.
Previous Tutorial.
Neurons, Neural Networks and Neural Pathways.
Additional Links
First of all, thank you so much for this site. It really makes quitting easier when you understand what is happening in your brain. Wanted to ask a question though, and it is purely to try and further my understanding of how nicotine effects the reward system.
In Allen Carrs book he writes that the Nicotine craving and perceived enjoyment of the cigarette is only a relieving of withdrawal pangs. And that once the nicotine is out of your body there is no “actual” pleasure you receive from it, other than an “illusionary” psychological boost. And reading your site it seems that long term usage does in fact change how the reward centre reacts to nicotine. So my question is this: If you were to take a perfectly healthy 40 year old, one who has never had a single dose of nicotine in his life, and have that person smoke a single cigarette, would that person receive the same reaction in the reward centre as a long time addicted smoker would? And would that single cigarette even give that person a reaction in the reward centre at all?
I apologize for the strange nature of my question, I just want to fully understand how the drug works, in order to further help me kick this nasty addiction. Thanks again for this website, and thank you for your time.
Hi Greg,
Thanks for your comment and question…
The use of nicotine physically affects the reward system and does so from the very first puff. Continued use, allows nicotine to hijack areas of the brain connected to the reward center, resulting in the chemical dependence to nicotine, which causes the addict to hunger (withdrawal) for nicotine and cigarettes when nicotine levels drop.
I think the pleasure of satisfaction gained for a long term smoker, would indeed be more intense, simply because they are relieving a strong chemical withdrawal and need to smoke. Not unlike a person who suffers hunger pangs, gains more satisfaction from the act of eating and fulfilling the need to eat, than someone who is not so hungry.
I would not suggest the pleasure is an “illusion,” that vanishes once nicotine leaves the body. However, cravings will weaken as the neural connections associated with them, metabolize and break down due to inactivity and down regulation. Cravings can be physically observed, measured and predicted. They are also the most critical part of the healing process.
So in short, while a first time smoker will receive a dopamine hit and feel a relatively minor sense of satisfaction, (as you might with say a… sugary sweet) they won’t feel the effects of withdrawal (Cravings) and the intense satisfaction that comes with relieving that withdrawal…. until they become addicted.
I touch on this in a bit more detail in this you tube clip…
Hope that helps some!
Thanks