ArticleNeuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology2017
Menthol Enhances Nicotine Reward-Related Behavior by Potentiating Nicotine-Induced Changes in nAChR Function, nAChR Upregulation, and DA Neuron Excitability.
Article in Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 76 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
76 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 103 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Role of Nicotine and Flavor in the Abuse Potential and Appeal of Electronic Cigarettes for Adult Current and Former Cigarette and Electronic Cigarette Users: A Systematic Review.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2022Pooled it
- Use of Mentholated Cigarettes and Likelihood of Smoking Cessation in the United States: A Meta-Analysis.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2020Pooled it
- Acute effects of inhaled menthol on cognitive effects of intravenous nicotine among young adult cigarette smokers.Addictive behaviors · 2021Trial
- Acute effects of inhaled menthol on the rewarding effects of intravenous nicotine in smokers.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2018Trial
- Cool but not harmless: synthetic cooling agents enhance nicotine reinforcement via the mesolimbic dopamine system.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Synthetic cooling agents enhance nicotine reinforcement and mesolimbic dopamine signaling.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Modulation of monoaminergic neurotransmission in substance use disorders: a neuropharmacological perspective focusing on plant-derived metabolites.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Greater Appeal and Greater Harm? Young Adults' Preference for Menthol Versus Nonmenthol Very-Low-Nicotine Cigarettes in a Cross-Over Trial.American journal of preventive medicine · 2025Article
- Nicotine induces abnormal motor coupling through sensitization of a mechanosensory circuit in Caenorhabditis elegans.PLoS biology · 2025Article
- Impact of flavorants on nicotine vapor self-administration in adolescent mice: Cherry on top?The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics · 2025Article
- Impact of chemical flavorants on reinforcement-related behavior in an adolescent mouse model of vaping self-administration.The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics · 2025Article
- The influence of high-fat diet on nicotine vapor self-administration, neuronal excitability, and leptin levels in adult mice.Physiology & behavior · 2025Article
- Age-dependent effects of vaping on the prefrontal cortex, ventral tegmental area, and nucleus accumbens.Communications biology · 2024Article
- Stimulus mediation, specificity and impact of menthol in rats trained to discriminate puffs of nicotine e-cigarette aerosol from nicotine-free aerosol.Psychopharmacology · 2024Article
- E-cigarette dependence and cooling flavor use are linked among youth.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Article
- Investigating the role of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in menthol's effects in mice.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Article
- The Impact of High or Low Doses of Nicotine in a Mouse Model of Vapor Self-Administration.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2024Article
- Article
- Flavoring Agents in E-cigarette Liquids: A Comprehensive Analysis of Multiple Health Risks.Cureus · 2023Review
- Pain and Menthol Use Are Related to Greater Nicotine Dependence Among Black Adults Who Smoke Cigarettes at Wave 5 (2018-2019) of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2023Article
16 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Understanding why the quit rate among smokers of menthol cigarettes is lower than non-menthol smokers requires identifying the neurons that are altered by nicotine, menthol, and acetylcholine. Dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) mediate the positive reinforcing effects of nicotine. Using mouse models, we show that menthol enhances nicotine-induced changes in nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) expressed on midbrain DA neurons. Menthol plus nicotine upregulates nAChR number and function on midbrain DA neurons more than nicotine alone. Menthol also enhances nicotine-induced changes in DA neuron excitability. In a conditioned place preference (CPP) assay, we observed that menthol plus nicotine produces greater reward-related behavior than nicotine alone. Our results connect changes in midbrain DA neurons to menthol-induced enhancements of nicotine reward-related behavior and may help explain how smokers of menthol cigarettes exhibit reduced cessation rates.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.