Nicotine enhances the ability to focus and remember. The
alkaloid acts in a similar manner to the brain’s own signaling molecule,
acetylcholine. It interacts with eponymous receptors on the surface of nerve
cells to regulate signaling in the brain.
The role of the nicotinic-acetylcholine receptors throughout
the central nervous system is so wide-ranging that new discoveries about the
molecule continue apace. A recent study
published in Nature Neuroscience found that one type of nicotinic receptor acts
as a key element in a cell that appears to perform a critical function in
regulating memory.