Mood and anxiety regulation by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors: A potential pathway to modulate aggression and related behavioral states

• Published in: Neuropharmacology Vol. 96; no. Pt B; pp. 235 - 243
• Main Authors: Picciotto, Marina R., Lewis, Alan S., van Schalkwyk, Gerrit I., Mineur, Yann S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-09-2015
• Subjects: Affect - drug effects; Affect - physiology; Aggression; Aggression - drug effects; Aggression - physiology; Animals; Anxiety - chemically induced; Anxiety - physiopathology; Behavior; Clinical Trials as Topic; Depression; Humans; Mood disorders; Nicotine; Nicotine - pharmacology; Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors; Nicotinic Agonists - pharmacology; Receptors, Nicotinic - physiology; Smoking; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome - complications; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome - physiopathology; Tobacco Use Disorder - complications; Tobacco Use Disorder - physiopathology; Withdrawal; Aggression; Withdrawal; Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors; Mood disorders; Depression; Behavior; Nicotine; Smoking
• ISSN: 0028-3908; 1873-7064
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2014.12.028

The co-morbidity between smoking and mood disorders is striking. Preclinical and clinical studies of nicotinic effects on mood, anxiety, aggression, and related behaviors, such as irritability and agitation, suggest that smokers may use the nicotine in tobacco products as an attempt to self-medicate symptoms of affective disorders. The role of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in circuits regulating mood and anxiety is beginning to be elucidated in animal models, but the mechanisms underlying the effects of nicotine on aggression-related behavioral states (ARBS) are still not understood. Clinical trials of nicotine or nicotinic medications for neurological and psychiatric disorders have often found effects of nicotinic medications on ARBS, but few trials have studied these outcomes systematically. Similarly, the increase in ARBS resulting from smoking cessation can be resolved by nicotinic agents, but the effects of nicotinic medications on these types of mental states and behaviors in non-smokers are less well understood. Here we review the literature on the role of nAChRs in regulating mood and anxiety, and subsequently on the closely related construct of ARBS. We suggest avenues for future study to identify how nAChRs and nicotinic agents may play a role in these clinically important areas.
This article is part of the Special Issue entitled ‘The Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor: From Molecular Biology to Cognition’.
•There is high co-morbidity between smoking and mood disorders.•Clinical trials have shown effects of nicotine on aggression-related behaviors.•Few trials of nicotine study aggression-related outcomes systematically.•Further studies nicotine and nAChR effects on aggression are necessary.