>>12042718>>12042766Sorry lads, it was the middle of the night when I wrote that. Basically, the dopamine receptors in your limbic system control, among other things, feelings of motivation and drive to do things, especially in response to anticipated reward. When these receptors get artificially stimulated, (e.g. more dopamine is artificially introduced due to a stimulant), or they just get really stimulated in general, the cells change gene expression such that they become more sensitive to dopamine (this is in contrast to most receptors, which will try to desensitize itself if it is receiving too much signal). This is the primary mechanism behind addiction, and nicotine is extra good at causing these changes.
tldr: nicotine makes long-term changes to your reward system, and is extra good at doing this.
just for the record, i've only studied this stuff for pleasure (and nicotine gum specifically i researched because i planned on taking it), so don't take my word as gospel
