Nicotine affects the brain in unpredictable ways.Apart from producing addiction,it is known to affect the memory and learning abilities of the brain.Latest research ( Dated Aug.2009 ) has revealed how the observations made regarding the harmful effects of nicotine earlier are found to be true.This article tries to gain further insight.
How different sections of the brain communicate with each other?
- Different sections of the brain are interdependent on each other to carry out their functions.
- These sections of the brain are made up of brain cells called neurons.
- They communicate with each other with the help of signals.
- When one section of the brain send a signal it is picked up by the other section with the help of receptors present in the neurons of that section.
The Entorhinal Cortex is an important memory center in the brain.It is made up of many layers. It is primarily responsible with the pre-processing of the input signals send to the brain.The signals from the ear and eyes get processed by the functioning of this portion of the brain.In this way,Entorhinal Cortex is involved in long term memory,cognitive and navigation processes.It works closely with another important section of the brain called Hippocampus to carry out these effects in humans.
What the Latest Research on Entorhinal Cortex has found out?
- In the experiment,rats were exposed to the amount of nicotine generally found in smoking.
- The response of the Entorhinal Cortex in their brain was studied.
- Researcher tried to find out any nicotine sensitive neurons in the layers of this section of the brain.
- In the deep layers of this section called the Subiculum the researcher could find concentration of nicotine sensitive neurons.
- In this way Subiculum neurons are responsible for causing the harmful effects of nicotine on memory.
