1. ¹Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Psychobiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
2. ²Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA

Correspondence: Dr N Hiroi, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Psychobiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, USA. E-mail: hiroi@aecom.yu.edu

Received 22 September 2008; Revised 2 January 2009; Accepted 22 January 2009; Published online 24 February 2009.

Abstract

The core nature of nicotine dependence is evident in wide variations in how individuals become and remain smokers. Individuals with pre-existing behavioral traits are more likely to develop nicotine dependence and experience difficulty when attempting to quit. Many molecular factors likely contribute to individual variations in the development of nicotine dependence and behavioral traits in complex manners. However, the identification of such molecules has been hampered by the phenotypic complexity of nicotine dependence and the complex ways molecules affect elements of nicotine dependence. We hypothesize that nicotine dependence is, in part, a result of interactions between nicotine and pre-existing behavioral traits. This perspective suggests that the identification of the molecular bases of such pre-existing behavioral traits will contribute to the development of effective methods for reducing smoking dependence and for helping smokers to quit.