Schizophrenia and smoking
The extremely high prevalence of smoking in people with schizophrenia has attracted attention to the CNS nicotinic receptors in the brain, and stimulated studies of the effects of nicotine on neurotransmitter systems implicated in this mental illness.
Clinical data now suggests that such excessive smoking is an attempt to self-medicate symptoms, and that patients have a primary defect in the receptors involved. Further studies may lead to the development of new treatments for both schizophrenia and nicotine dependence.
Last Reviewed: 05 December 2000
- 1. Dalack GW, Healy DJ, Meador-Woodruff JH. Nicotine dependence in schizophrenia: clinical phenomena and laboratory findings. Am J Psychiatry 1998 Nov; 155(11): 1490-501.
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