A Nicotine Challenge to the Self-Medication Hypothesis in a Neurodevelopmental Animal Model of Schizophrenia

Abstract

Nicotine addiction is the leading cause of premature illness and death in the general population. Up to half of all cigarettes are consumed by a minority of the population: persons with schizophrenia and other forms of mental illness. Ironically, despite nicotine dependence being considered a serious and deadly form of addiction in the general population, research on smoking in mental illness is predominantly guided by the idea that smoking has beneficial medication-like treatment effects. This article considers pitfalls of adherence to the self-medication hypothesis as an exclusively held dogma. New evidence from animal modeling work suggests the need to broaden hypothesis-driven research on smoking in mental illness. Adolescent smoking could predispose to mental illness and/or increased nicotine dependence in schizophrenia may represent an involuntary, general addiction vulnerability that has little to do with the ‘helpful’ psychoactive effects of nicotine or other drugs.

KEYWORDS:

• Nicotine addiction
• schizophrenia
• dual diagnosis
• animal models
• neurodevelopmental
• self-medication
• integrated neurocircuit vulnerability

This work was supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse–supported Career Development Award (K08 DA-019850) and the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addictions, Family and Social Services Administration.