The Translational Addiction Podcast #5: Nicotine on the Developing Brain

Despite being marketed as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes, vaping poses significant risks — primarily due to nicotine. In this episode of the Translational Addiction Podcast, hosted by Michaela Sumortin and Ardavan Mehrazma, we examine the article “Nicotine and the Developing Brain” by Emily Castro, Shahrdad Lotfipour and Frances Leslie, and discuss how nicotine impacts neurodevelopment across the lifespan.

Nicotine interferes with brain development during two critical periods: the fetal stage and adolescence. These disruptions impair prefrontal cortex function, attention and impulse control, while increasing susceptibility to other addictive substances — a phenomenon known as the gateway effect. Furthermore, nicotine induces epigenetic modifications that alter stress pathways and reward processing, with consequences that can extend to future generations.

Join us as we translate cutting-edge research from UC Irvine’s Lotfipour Lab into actionable insights, highlighting why nicotine exposure during development remains a pressing public health concern.

Listen now on lotfipourlab.org