Caffeine & Nicotine: Effects on Brain - What's the Difference?

[chhitiz]

do caffeine and nicotine have the same on the brain? if not, how do they differ?

 

[G037H3]

..why would they have the same effect?

 

[fedaykin]

This sounds like a homework question, but I will give you a hint. Caffeine is an adenosine competitive inhibitor in the CNS while nicotine is a cholinergic at nicotinic receptors in the CNS and SNS. Look at what those mean for differences. For similarities, I would definitely look at their metabolisms and possibly similarities in their effects (although this is a stretch, nicotine effects depend on dose more so than caffeine).

 

[SaraiP]

They are different - and they kinda cancel each other out. Caffeine is a stimulant - don't remember the mechanism, but it would mimic the body's sympatheic nervous system. Nicotine occurs naturally in the body and acts on the parasympathetic nervous system. People with bronchospasm are advised to drink coffee if nothing else is available. Smoking supposedly chills you out - but the effects wear off quickly. The periods in between the cigarettes become more tense.

Who's the biochem student here - I actually want to know how it all works - which receptors, which enzyme pathways...

 

[hypatia]

SaraiP, the OP asked his question like it was school work. We will not do someones work for them, but may point them in the right direction to look. fedaykin's answer does just that.