c-Fos marking of identified midbrain neurons coactive after nicotine administration in-vivo.

Despite the reduced life expectancy and staggering financial burden of medical treatment associated with tobacco smoking, the molecular, cellular, and ensemble adaptations associated with chronic nicotine consumption remain poorly understood. Complex circuitry interconnecting dopaminergic and cholinergic regions of the midbrain and mesopontine tegmentum are critical for nicotine associated reward. Yet our knowledge of the nicotine activation of these regions is incomplete, in part due to their cell type diversity.