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The Gateway Hypothesis of substance abuse: developmental, biological and societal perspectives
Author(s) -
Kandel Denise,
Kandel Eric
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.12851
Subject(s) - medicine , gateway (web page) , nicotine , addiction , substance abuse , priming (agriculture) , illicit drug , drug , neuroscience , psychiatry , psychology , biology , botany , germination , world wide web , computer science
The Gateway Hypothesis describes how tobacco or alcohol use precedes marijuana and other illicit drug use. We review the epidemiological data, explore the underlying molecular mechanisms in mice and discuss the societal implications of the hypothesis, including the use of e‐cigarettes by young people. Conclusion Our mouse model identifies biological processes underlying the hypothesis, showing that nicotine is a gateway drug that exerts a priming effect on cocaine through increased global acetylation in the striatum.