Nicotine produces a highly restricted pattern of degeneration with in the rat brain. As this is only a recent finding, this research is produced more questions than answers, especially concerning the long-term effects of this treatment. It appears that nicotine is expecting a large portion of its neurotoxicity, it has also seems to play a role in the neuroprotection against various neurotoxins and possibly neurological disorders such as Parkinson's Disease and Alzheimer's Disease. Therefore, this research proposal focuses on the various aspects of nicotine neurotoxicity as mediated by nicotine's actions on this receptor. Experiments will focus on determining the extent of the alpha4beta2's role in both neurotoxicity and the long-term impact of this treatment on this receptor population. Finally, experiments will focus on the potential neuroprotective role of the alpha4beta2 receptor against two neurotoxins used as animal models of disease, and the effect of these neurotoxins on the alpha4beta2 population. It is my hope that these experiments will shed light on how nicotine is both neurotoxic and neuroprotective, and how the alpha4beta2 receptor may be involved in these seemingly opposite effects.
