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. 2017 Nov;42(12):2325-2332.
doi: 10.1038/npp.2017.131. Epub 2017 Jun 23.

Striatal Dopamine D2/D3 Receptor Availability Varies Across Smoking Status

Corinde E Wiers  1 , Elizabeth A Cabrera  1 , Dardo Tomasi  1 , Christopher T Wong  1 , Şükrü B Demiral  1 , Sung Won Kim  1 , Gene-Jack Wang  1 , Nora D Volkow  1   2
Affiliations

Striatal Dopamine D2/D3 Receptor Availability Varies Across Smoking Status

Corinde E Wiers et al. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2017 Nov.

Abstract

To assess how tobacco smoking status affects baseline dopamine D2/D3 (D2R) receptor availability and methylphenidate-induced dopamine (DA) release, we retrospectively analyzed D2R availability measures of 8 current smokers, 10 ex-smokers, and 18 nonsmokers who were scanned with positron emission tomography and [11C]raclopride, after administration of an injection of placebo or 0.5 mg/kg i.v. methylphenidate. There was a significant effect of smoking status on baseline striatal D2R availability; with current smokers showing lower striatal D2R availability compared with nonsmokers (caudate, putamen, and ventral striatum) and with ex-smokers (caudate and putamen). Baseline striatal D2R did not differ between nonsmokers and ex-smokers. The effect of smoking status on methylphenidate-induced DA release tended to be lower in smokers but the difference was not significant (p=0.08). For behavioral measures, current smokers showed significantly higher aggression scores compared with both nonsmokers and ex-smokers. These results suggest that with abstinence ex-smokers may recover from low striatal D2R availability and from increased behavioral aggression seen in active smokers. However, longitudinal studies are needed to assess this within abstaining smokers.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Smoking status had a significant effect on striatal D2R availability (p=0.004), with post hoc tests showing reduced D2R availability in smokers versus nonsmokers (caudate p=0.015, putamen p=0.035, ventral striatum p=0.012) and ex-smokers (caudate p=0.05 and putamen p=0.03). The post hoc effects did not meet Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons (all p>0.006). Error bars represent 1 SEM. Statistics were corrected for age and BMI. BPND, nondisplaceable binding potential; D2R, dopamine D2/D3 receptor.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Methylphenidate-induced DA release varied over smoking status at trend level (p=0.08). Exploratory post hoc tests showed increased DA release in ex-smokers compared with current smokers at trend level for caudate (p=0.08) and putamen (p=0.06), and compared with nonsmokers in caudate (p=0.04), putamen (p=0.03), and VS (p=0.08). The post hoc effects did not meet Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons (all p>0.006). Error bars represent 1 SEM. Statistics were corrected for age and BMI. BPND, nondisplaceable binding potential; DA, dopamine.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Aggression MPQ personality scores correlated with baseline D2R in putamen (r=0.72, p=0.004; Bonferroni-corrected), VS (r=0.56, p=0.04), and at trend level in the caudate (r=0.47, p=0.09) in nonsmokers only; variables have been residualized for age and BMI. There were no significant correlations for smokers or ex-smokers. BPND, nondisplaceable binding potential; DA, dopamine; VS, ventral striatum.
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