ArticleNeuropharmacology2019
Why flavored vape products may be attractive: Green apple tobacco flavor elicits reward-related behavior, upregulates nAChRs on VTA dopamine neurons, and alters midbrain dopamine and GABA neuron function.
Article in Neuropharmacology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
39 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 53 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
- Acute analgesic effect of nicotine vaping using three experimental pain induction tasks: a randomized, placebo-controlled laboratory study.Psychopharmacology · 2025Trial
- Synthetic cooling agents enhance nicotine reinforcement and mesolimbic dopamine signaling.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Acute effects of electronic nicotine delivery system liquid nicotine form and sweet enhancer among people who use inhaled tobacco products.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Association of Daily E-Cigarette Use Duration With Anxiety in Adolescents: A Comparison With Cigarette-Only and Dual Use.Psychiatry investigation · 2026Article
- Effects of commercial unflavored and vanilla-flavored e-liquids on nicotine intake and withdrawal.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- 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
- Nicotine is an Immunosuppressant: Implications for Women's Health and Disease.Journal of neuroimmunology · 2024Review
- Age-dependent effects of vaping on the prefrontal cortex, ventral tegmental area, and nucleus accumbens.Communications biology · 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
- Article
- Chemical Flavorants in Vaping Products Alter Neurobiology in a Sex-Dependent Manner to Promote Vaping-Related Behaviors.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2023Article
- Beyond the label: current evidence and future directions for the interrelationship between electronic cigarettes and mental health.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Review
- A high-fat diet has sex-specific effects on nicotine vapor self-administration in mice.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2022Article
- Morphine Exposure Reduces Nicotine-Induced Upregulation of Nicotinic Receptors and Decreases Volitional Nicotine Intake in a Mouse Model.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2022Article
- Review
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
While nicotine is the primary addictive component in tobacco products, additional flavors have become a concern with the growing popularity of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). For this reason, we have begun to investigate popular tobacco and ENDS flavors. Here, we examined farnesol, a chemical flavorant used in green apple and fruit flavors in ENDS e-liquids, for its ability to produce reward-related behavior. Using male and female 3-6 month old C57BL/6 J mice and farnesol doses of 0.1, 1, and 10 mg/kg we identified a sex-dependent effect in a conditioned place preference assay: farnesol-alone produces reward-related behavior in only male mice. Despite this sex-dependent effect, 1.0 mg/kg farnesol enhances locomotor activity in both male and female mice. To understand farnesol's effect on reward-related behavior, we used whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology and confocal microscopy to investigate changes in putative dopamine and GABA neurons. For these approaches, we utilized genetically modified mice that contain fluorescent nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). Our electrophysiological assays with male mice revealed that farnesol treatment increases ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neuron firing frequency and this may be due to a decrease in inhibitory tone from GABA neurons. Our microscopy assays revealed that farnesol treatment produces a significant upregulation of α6* nAChRs in male mice but not female mice. This was supported by an observed increase in α6* nAChR function in additional electrophysiology assays. These data provide evidence that popular tobacco flavorants may alter smoking-related behavior and promote the need to examine additional ENDS flavors.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.