Effects of Nicotine Deprivation and Replacement on BOLD-fMRI Response to Smoking Cues as a Function of DRD4 VNTR Genotype

INTRODUCTION: Reactivity to smoking cues is an important factor in the motivation to smoke and has been associated with the dopamine receptor 4 variable number tandem repeat (DRD4 exon III VNTR) polymorphism. However, little is known about the associated neural mechanisms. METHODS: Non-treatment-seeking Caucasian smokers completed overnight abstinence and viewed smoking and neutral cues during 2 separate functional magnetic resonance imaging …