Nicotine

General 3: In the brain…

Neurons, the cells of the brain, communicate with one another by releasing chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters.

Nicotine mimics one of these neurotransmitters, acetylcholine. It makes contact with neurons in the brain’s reward system and emits signals.

The difference is that nicotine emits far more powerful signals than the neurotransmitter it is mimicking. That is because nicotine makes more prolonged contact with the neurons in the reward system.

The animation Drugs and the Brain shows more detailed information about this process.