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Nature 436, 31-32 (7 July 2005) | doi:10.1038/436031a; Published online 6 July 2005

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Neuroscience:  A home for the nicotine habit

Julie A. Kauer1

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Nicotine is extremely addictive, but it can also improve cognitive performance. Attempts to unravel the complex pathways underlying these effects pinpoint a single type of receptor in just one brain region.

Neuroscience is a somewhat unusual field, as it studies the workings of a single organ from microscopic to holistic levels. But a major technical challenge is how to link the two ends of the spectrum — how do specific molecules in the brain control behaviour?

  1. Julie A. Kauer is in the Departments of Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology and Biotechnology, and of Neuroscience, Brown University, Box GB-4, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA.
    Email: Julie_Kauer@brown.edu

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