Abstract
The majority of adolescents report to have smoked a cigarette at least once. Adolescence is a critical period of brain development during which maturation of areas involved in cognitive functioning, such as the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), is still ongoing. Tobacco smoking during this age may compromise the normal course of prefrontal development and lead to cognitive impairments in later life. In addition, adolescent smokers suffer from attention deficits, which progress with the years of smoking. Recent studies in rodents reveal the molecular changes induced by adolescent nicotine exposure that alter the functioning of synapses in the PFC and underlie the lasting effects on cognitive function. In particular, the expression and function of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are changed and this has an impact on short- and long-term plasticity of glutamatergic synapses in the PFC and ultimately on the attention performance. Here, we review and discuss these recent findings.
Highlights
The majority of adolescents report to have smoked a cigarette at least once
Brain development is not complete by adolescence, especially maturation of areas involved in cognitive functioning, such as the medial prefrontal cortex, is still ongoing
We showed that PFC pyramidal neurons across cortical layers show a differential pattern of postsynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) activation: layer II/III pyramidal neurons do not contain nAChRs, layer V pyramidal neurons contain α7 nAChRs, and layer VI pyramidal neurons are modulated by β2∗ nicotinic receptors (Poorthuis et al, 2012)
Summary
Adolescence is a critical period of brain development during which maturation of areas involved in cognitive functioning, such as the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), is still ongoing. Tobacco smoking during this age may compromise the normal course of prefrontal development and lead to cognitive impairments in later life. Subcortical limbic structures important for emotional processing, such as hypothalamus, midbrain dopamine areas, nucleus accumbens, dorsal, and ventral striatum and amygdala, experience a major developmental boost around the onset of puberty (Sowell et al, 2003; Casey et al, 2005) Their maturation is important for social and sexual behaviors and is triggered by pubertal hormones.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
