nicotinic receptors and that the asparagine allele makes these receptors less efficient, thereby resulting in an increased consumption of tobacco. Of interest, a human imaging study suggested a possible neural mechanism for the effect of the rs16969968 variant61. It was shown to affect the resting state functional connectivity of the dorsal anterior cingulate–ventral striatum circuit. The risk asparagine allele was associated with decreased signal strength of this circuit, which in turn predicted the severity of nicotine dependence.
