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Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Creating Dynamic Images of Short-lived Dopamine Fluctuations with lp-ntPET: Dopamine Movies of Cigarette Smoking
Published on: August 6, 2013
Impulsive smoking in a patient with Parkinson's disease treated with dopamine agonists
Karina L Bienfait1, Matthew Menza, Margery H Mark
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 671 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
Abstract:
Impulse control disorders, including pathological gambling, binge eating, compulsive shopping and hypersexual behaviors, have frequently been reported as a side effect of dopaminergic medications for Parkinson's disease (PD). Here we describe a patient with PD who developed an unusual manifestation of impulsive behaviors, including cigarette smoking, associated with an increase in dopamine agonist medication. We postulate this to be related to an overstimulation of mesolimbic dopamine receptors responsible for reward-seeking behaviors. Further research is needed to examine impulsive cigarette smoking in PD.
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