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Brief Communication

Nature Neuroscience 7, 581–582 (1 June 2004) | doi:10.1038/nn1243

Frequency-dependent modulation of dopamine release by nicotine

Hui Zhang & David Sulzer

Although nicotine activation of dopamine release is implicated in addiction, it also desensitizes nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), leading to a prolonged depression of evoked dopamine release. Here we show that nicotine's effects depend on the firing pattern of dopamine neurons, so that while desensitization of nAChRs indeed curbs dopamine released by stimuli emulating tonic firing, it allows a rapid rise in dopamine from stimuli emulating phasic firing patterns associated with incentive/salience paradigms.