Reasons for not using smoking cessation aids

© 2008 Gross et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

The dopamine D2 receptor mediates approach-avoidance tendencies in smokers

Dopamine D2 receptors (DRD2) have been strongly implicated in reward processing of natural stimuli and drugs. By using the Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT), we recently demonstrated that smokers show an increased approach bias toward smoking-related cues but not toward naturally-rewarding stimuli. Here we examined the contribution of the DRD2 Taq1B polymorphism to smokers’ and non-smokers’ responsivity toward smoking versus naturally-rewarding stimuli in the AAT. Smokers carrying the minor B1 allele of the DRD2 Taq1B polymorphism showed reduced approach behavior for food-related pictures compared to non-smokers with the same allele. In the group of smokers, a higher approach-bias toward smoking-related compared to food-related pictures was found in carriers of the B1 allele. This pattern was not evident in smokers homozygous for the B2 allele. Additionally, smokers with the B1 allele reported fewer attempts to quit smoking relative to smokers homozygous for the B2 allele. This is the first study demonstrating that behavioral shifts in response to smoking relative to natural rewards in smokers are mediated by the DRD2 Taq1B polymorphism. Our results indicate a reduced natural-reward brain reactivity in smokers with a genetically determined decrease in dopaminergic activity (i.e., reduction of DRD2 availability). It remains to be determined whether this pattern might be related to a different outcome after psychological cessation interventions, i.e. AAT modification paradigms, in smokers

Luminescent diazaborolyl-functionalized polystyrene

Kuhtz H, Cheng F, Schwedler S, et al. Luminescent diazaborolyl-functionalized polystyrene. ACS Macro Letters. 2012;1(5):555-559.We present two different procedures for the synthesis of poly[4-(1′,3′-diethyl-1′,3′,2′-benzodiazaborolyl)styrene] (3a) and poly[4-(1′,3′-diphenyl-1′,3′,2′-benzodiazaborolyl)styrene] (3b). The new polymers were fully characterized by GPC, multinuclear NMR, and elemental analysis. The thermal properties and stability were studied by DSC and TGA, and the optical characteristics were examined by absorption and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Remarkably high quantum yields of up to 77% were measured. In comparison to molecular species we found significantly shorter lifetimes, likely as a result of incorporation of the chromophores into the polymer structure