The Brain's Response to Nicotine

If, as many suspect, smokers are self-medicating with nicotine, what does that ancient drug teach us about the brain? On Wednesday, October 23, Henry A. Lester, the Bren Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Technology, will explain this aspect of his research in his talk, "The Response to Nicotine," one of the ongoing Earnest C. Watson Lecture Series that takes place on the Caltech campus.

Lester notes that we are now learning, in atomic detail, how nicotine binds to its receptor proteins; how this activates ion channels; and how this might lead to the activation of genes. His insights have been gleaned from designed mice that lack some types of nicotine receptors, and from other mice that have abnormally high nicotine sensitivity. Lester describes how scientists exploit these advances to seek medications with some of nicotine's benefits and none of its addictive hazards.

Caltech has offered the Watson Lecture Series for almost 80 years, since it was conceived by the late Caltech physicist Earnest Watson as a way to explain science to the local community. The lecture will take place at 8 p.m. in Beckman Auditorium, which is located near Michigan Avenue south of Del Mar Boulevard, on Caltech's campus in Pasadena. Seating is available on a free, no-ticket-required, first-come, first-served basis, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Parking is available in the lots south of Del Mar Boulevard between Wilson and Chester Avenues, and in the parking structures at 341 and 405 South Wilson and 370 South Holliston Avenue.

For more information, call 1(888) 2CALTECH (1-888-222-5832) or (626) 395-4652. Persons with Disabilities: 626-395-4688 (voice) or 626-395-3700 (TDD)