Nicotine doesn't just mess with the reward pathways though, it affects almost every major brain region because the nAChR receptors are everywhere, so nicotine influences things like memory, mood, emotional reactions and how we process sensory emotions. The article makes it clear its a powerful addictive neuroactive drug and how it impacts brain receptors and the pathways that control cravings. Nicotine has a stronger impact on the brain during adolescence because its a critical period of neural development. Nicotine could interfere with proper development which could potentially lead to long term changes in cognitive behavior.
Repeated exposure to nicotine will lead to a tolerance, so when you don't vape the withdrawal kicks in which have symptoms that include depressed mood, decreased arousal and sleep disturbance because the brain has adapted to having nicotine around. Lets not forget the damage it does to your lungs...
References
Herman, M., & Tarran, R. (2020, November). E-cigarettes, nicotine, the lung and the brain: Multi-level Cascading Pathophysiology. The Journal of physiology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7721976/
Yuan, M., Cross, S. J., Loughlin, S. E., & Leslie, F. M. (2015, August 15). Nicotine and the adolescent brain. The Journal of physiology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4560573/
I like how you mentioned that nicotine has a stronger impact on the brain during adolescence. I assumed it was bad for kids but I didn’t’ think about the fact that it could mess with your neural development. I can see how this can cause lifelong problems for children who grow up addicted. I also wonder if the receptors in our brain are permanently damaged as a result of repeated nicotine use, or if the receptors just become less receptive and release less dopamine slowly over time?
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