Nicotine Withdrawal and Dopamine

Common nicotine withdrawal symptoms include feeling depressed, feeling irritable and feeling restless. These and other withdrawal symptoms along with strong urges to smoke mean often smokers relapse back in to smoking within 4 weeks of quitting. It has been recently shown that low dopamine levels occur as a result of withdrawal from smoking. Dopamine is a brain chemical messenger that is critically important in reward and motivation. According to the authors of this research, these findings indicate that medications which could help elevate dopamine levels during withdrawal may be successful treatment strategies for nicotine-dependent individuals attempting to quit smoking. Theoretically, such a treatment could help normalize any fluctuating dopamine levels from the sudden lack of nicotine, and also lessen the dopamine-influenced urges to seek out the nicotine, leading to relapse.