MARKERS OF RISK FOR NICOTINE DEPENDENCE IN YOUNGSTERS

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Cigarette smoking frequently begins in adolescence and is associated with significant socioeconomic and psychosocial burden. There is evidence that depression increases the risk for smoking and vice versa. Alterations in HPA regulation have been observed in association with both depressive illness and ND> Based on this evidence, it is hypothesized that altered HPA activity may be the mediating force in increasing the risk for ND in depressed individuals, and possibly in non-depressed persons as well. In attempting to establish the role of HPA axis on the development of ND, it is important to consider that nicotine has a reciprocal influence on the HPA system. Because initiation of cigarette smoking and progression to regular nicotine use occurs during adolescence, this developmental period offers a unique opportunity to assess the underlying mechanisms associated with ND without many of the potentially confounding variables that might occur in adults as a result of chronic smoking. Specific Aims: 1) To examine the relationship between dysregulation in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) system and risk for initiation of cigarette smoking or progression to nicotine dependence (ND). 2) To assess whether the association between HPA dysregulation and risk for smoking initiation or development of ND is influenced by depressive illness.