Nicotine improves performance in an attentional set shifting task in rats

Executive dysfunction and cognitive decline, a non-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease captured in animal models

The non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) have gained increasing attention in recent years due to their significant impact on patients' quality of life. Among these non-motor symptoms, cognitive dysfunction has emerged as an area of particular interest where the clinical aspects are covered in Chapter 2 of this volume. This chapter explores the rationale for investigating the underlying neurobiology of cognitive dysfunction by utilising translational animal models of PD, from rodents to non-human primates. The objective of this chapter is to review the various animal models of cognition that have explored the dysfunction in animal models of Parkinson's disease. Some of the more advanced pharmacological studies aimed at restoring these cognitive deficits are reviewed, although this chapter highlights the lack of systematic approaches in dealing with this non-motor symptom at the pre-clinical stages.

Nicotine's effect on cognition, a friend or foe?

Tobacco smoking is a preventable cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Smoking comes in form of absorption of many compounds, among which nicotine is the main psychoactive component of tobacco and its positive and negative reinforcement effects are proposed to be the key mechanism for the initiation and maintenance of smoking. Growing evidence suggests that the cognitive enhancement effects of nicotine may also contribute to the difficulty of quitting smoking, especially in individuals with psychiatric disorders. In this review, we first introduce the beneficial effect of nicotine on cognition including attention, short-term memory and long-term memory. We next summarize the beneficial effect of nicotine on cognition under pathological conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Schizophrenia, Stress-induced Anxiety, Depression, and drug-induced memory impairment. The possible mechanism underlying nicotine's effect is also explored. Finally, nicotine's detrimental effect on cognition is discussed, including in the prenatal and adolescent periods, and high-dose nicotine- and withdrawal-induced memory impairment is emphasized. Therefore, nicotine serves as both a friend and foe. Nicotine-derived compounds could be a promising strategy to alleviate neurological disease-associated cognitive deficit, however, due to nicotine's detrimental effect, continued educational programs and public awareness campaigns are needed to reduce tobacco use among pregnant women and smoking should be quitted even if it is e-cigarette, especially for the adolescents.

Adolescent nicotine administration impacts working memory and reversal learning but not cognitive flexibility

There has been increased interest in early exposure to nicotine through tobacco products and vaping specifically as it relates to addiction, yet fewer studies have focused on whether behavioral effects resulting from early nicotine exposure may persist into adulthood. Our experiments tested the hypothesis that exposure to nicotine during adolescence would impair selective aspects of behavioral cognition in rodents in adulthood. Male and female adolescent rats received either nicotine (0.4 mg/kg) or vehicle injections (intraperitoneal) once daily for 10 days (PND 29-38) followed by a washout period before behavioral testing. Animals were followed in a longitudinal design and evaluated on a battery of both behavioral and cognitive tasks during adulthood (PND 90+) that included locomotor activity, working memory (novel object recognition), cognitive flexibility (attentional set-shifting task, ASST), and anxiety-like behaviors. Data suggested that subchronic exposure to nicotine during adolescence produced significant changes in working memory, in two reversal problems in the ASST, and in anxiety-related behaviors. Taken together these data may suggest that limited early exposure to nicotine may produce selective longer term impairments in cognitive and behavioral processes related to working memory and reversal learning.

Time-dependent effects of nicotine on reversal of dizocilpine-induced attentional impairment in female rats

Nicotine and nicotinic compounds have been found to attenuate the attentional impairments caused by the glutamate NMDA antagonist dizocilpine (MK-801). The timing of the nicotine effect on attention in rodents has not yet been determined. In the current study, we tested the interaction of dizocilpine with nicotine. Nicotine was given at a range of times (30 to 240 min) prior to dizocilpine administration and before testing on an operant signal detection task. Each rat was assessed with each dose timing. This protocol was repeated twice with one week between phases of testing. In the first phase, correct rejection performance was significantly impaired by 0.05 mg/kg of dizocilpine and this impairment was significantly attenuated by nicotine given sc 30-150 min prior to dizocilpine administration. The greater dizocilpine-induced percent correct rejection impairment seen during the first phase of drug challenge, was significantly attenuated by nicotine given 30 or 90 min before the start of the 1-h test session. During the second phase, the dizocilpine-induced repeated acquisition impairment was more modest. During this phase of testing nicotine administered 60, 90 or 150 min before testing significantly attenuated the dizocilpine-induced impairment. In both phases of testing, nicotine administration 240 min prior to testing was not seen to attenuate the dizocilpine-induced impairment. During the first phase but not the second phase, dizocilpine administration caused a significant impairment in percent hit. Nicotine was not found to have a significant effect in the second phase. Response omissions were significantly increased by dizocilpine during the first, but not the second phase. Nicotine was not found to have any significant effects on response omission. Overall, our data show that nicotine administration prior to dizocilpine administration was able to significantly improve dizocilpine-induced attentional impairment in a time-dependent manner.

Increased dopamine availability magnifies nicotine effects on cognitive control: A pilot study

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

The ability to adapt to new task demands flexibly and to stabilise performance in the presence of distractors is termed cognitive control and is mediated by dopaminergic and cholinergic neurotransmission. We aimed to test the hypothesis that the effect of the cholinergic agonist nicotine on cognitive control depends on baseline dopamine levels.

METHODS

Thirty-eight healthy non-smokers (16 males; M_age=24.05 years) performed a cognitive control task including distractor and switch trials twice. Subjects were split into two parallel groups. One group received 2 g of L-tyrosine two hours prior to testing to manipulate dopamine availability experimentally, while the other group received placebo on both days. One hour later, both groups received in a within-subject design: on one day, a 7 mg nicotine patch; on the other day, a matched placebo. Response time costs for distractor and switch trials served as measures of cognitive stability and flexibility.

RESULTS

Nicotinic modulation reduced response time costs in switch trials and increased costs in distractor trials (nicotine×condition, p=0.027) with a trend-wise interaction between nicotine, L-tyrosine and trial type (nicotine×L-tyrosine×condition, p=0.068), which was due to stronger nicotine effects under L-tyrosine.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data provide preliminary evidence that nicotine has opponent effects on cognitive stability and flexibility. Subjects who received the dopamine precursor L-tyrosine were more prone to nicotine effects on behaviours, which are improvements in cognitive flexibility at the cost of decreased cognitive stability.

Cognitive rigidity and BDNF-mediated frontostriatal glutamate neuroadaptations during spontaneous nicotine withdrawal

Cognitive flexibility is the ability to switch strategic responses adaptively in changing environments. Cognitive rigidity imposed by neural circuit adaptations during nicotine abstinence may foster maladaptive nicotine taking in addicts. We systematically examined the effects of spontaneous withdrawal in mice exposed to either nicotine (6.3 or 18 mg/kg/day) or saline for 14 days on cognitive flexibility using an operant strategy set-shifting task. Because frontostriatal circuits are critical for cognitive flexibility and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) modulates glutamate plasticity in these circuits, we also explored the effects of nicotine withdrawal on these neurochemical substrates. Mice undergoing nicotine withdrawal required more trials to attain strategy-switching criterion. Error analysis show that animals withdrawn from both nicotine doses committed higher perseverative errors, which correlated with measures of anxiety. However, animals treated with the higher nicotine dose also displayed more strategy maintenance errors that remained independent of negative affect. BDNF mRNA expression increased in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) following nicotine withdrawal. Surprisingly, BDNF protein declined in mPFC but was elevated in dorsal striatum (DS). DS BDNF protein positively correlated with perseverative and maintenance errors, suggesting mPFC-DS overflow of BDNF during withdrawal. BDNF-evoked glutamate release and synapsin phosphorylation was attenuated within DS synapses, but enhanced in the nucleus accumbens, suggesting a dichotomous role of BDNF signaling in striatal regions. Taken together, these data suggest that spontaneous nicotine withdrawal impairs distinct components of cognitive set-shifting and these deficits may be linked to BDNF-mediated alterations in glutamate signaling dynamics in discrete frontostriatal circuits.

Cholinergic Signaling Dynamics and Cognitive Control of Attention

The central cholinergic system is one of the most important modulator neurotransmitter system implicated in diverse behavioral processes. Activation of the basal forebrain cortical cholinergic input system represents a critical step in cortical information processing. This chapter explores recent developments illustrating cortical cholinergic transmission mediate defined cognitive operations, which is contrary to the traditional view that acetylcholine acts as a slowly acting neuromodulator that influences arousal cortex-wide. Specifically, we review the evidence that phasic cholinergic signaling in the prefrontal cortex is a causal mediator of signal detection. In addition, studies that support the neuromodulatory role of cholinergic inputs in top-down attentional control are summarized. Finally, we review new findings that reveal sex differences and hormonal regulation of the cholinergic-attention system.

Conscious Abstinence from Smokeless Tobacco Evokes Higher Withdrawal Response and Impairs Cognitive Performance Independent of Sympathetic Response

INTRODUCTION

High consumption of smokeless tobacco in adult Indian population increases the risk of developing oral cancers leading to high morbidity and mortality. Though the influence of abstinence from smoking on cognitive performance has been widely studied, the effect of smokeless tobacco on cognitive performance and its association with withdrawal symptoms is less understood. This study comparatively investigates the effect of short-term conscious abstinence and distraction during abstinence from smokeless tobacco consumption on the craving, withdrawal symptoms, sympathetic response, and cognitive performance in tobacco addicts.

METHODS

Age, sex, education and socioeconomic status matched control (N = 15) and smokeless tobacco addicts (N = 60) were recruited from residential areas in Bhubaneswar for the study. Following randomization of the addicts, conscious abstinence (N = 30) was induced by informed abstinence from tobacco consumption for 8 hours, while distracted cessation (N = 30) was induced by involving the participants in a cognitively engaging task for 8 hours during uninformed tobacco abstinence.

RESULTS

The results of the study show higher withdrawal symptoms and reduced cognitive performance in volunteers with conscious abstinence which was positively correlated. The decreased cognitive performance in conscious cessation was independent of tobacco-induced increase in the LF:HF ratio and cotinine concentration in saliva.

CONCLUSION

While conscious abstinence results in higher withdrawal symptoms, distraction during abstinence lowers these symptoms. Inclusion of distraction sessions during cessation can, therefore, be a new element in tobacco control strategies.

Altered motor, anxiety-related and attentional task performance at baseline associate with multiple gene copies of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter and related protein overexpression in ChAT::Cre+ rats

Transgenic rodents expressing Cre recombinase cell specifically are used for exploring mechanisms regulating behavior, including those mediated by cholinergic signaling. However, it was recently reported that transgenic mice overexpressing a bacterial artificial chromosome containing choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) gene, for synthesizing the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, present with multiple vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) gene copies, resulting in altered cholinergic tone and accompanying behavioral abnormalities. Since ChAT::Cre+ rats, used increasingly for understanding the biological basis of CNS disorders, utilize the mouse ChAT promotor to control Cre recombinase expression, we assessed for similar genotypical and phenotypical differences in such rats compared to wild-type siblings. The rats were assessed for mouse VAChT copy number, VAChT protein expression levels and for sustained attention, response control and anxiety. Rats were also subjected to a contextual fear conditioning paradigm using an unconditional fear-inducing stimulus (electrical foot shocks), with blood samples taken at baseline, the fear acquisition phase and retention testing, for measuring blood plasma markers of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal gland (HPA)-axis activity. ChAT::Cre+ rats expressed multiple mouse VAChT gene copies, resulting in significantly higher VAChT protein expression, revealed anxiolytic behavior, hyperlocomotion and deficits in tasks requiring sustained attention. The HPA-axis was intact, with unaltered circulatory levels of acute stress-induced corticosterone, leptin and glucose. Our findings, therefore, reveal that in ChAT::Cre+ rats, VAChT overexpression associates with significant alterations of certain cognitive, motor and affective functions. Although highly useful as an experimental tool, it is essential to consider the potential effects of altered cholinergic transmission on baseline behavior in ChAT::Cre rats.

Molecular Insights Into Memory-Enhancing Metabolites of Nicotine in Brain: A Systematic Review

Background: The alleged procognitive effects of nicotine and its metabolites in brain are controversial. Objective: Here, we review the pharmacologically active metabolites of nicotine in brain and their effects on neuronal mechanisms involving two main cognitive domains, i.e., learning and memory. Methods: We searched Embase, Medline via PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases for entries no later than May 2018, and restricted the search to articles about nicotine metabolites and cognitive behavior or cognitive mechanisms. Results: The initial search yielded 425 articles, of which 17 were eligible for inclusion after application of exclusion criteria. Of these, 13 were experimental, two were clinical, and two were conference papers. Conclusions: The results revealed three pharmacologically active biotransformations of nicotine in the brain, including cotinine, norcotinine, and nornicotine, among which cotinine and nornicotine both had a procognitive impact without adverse effects. The observed effect was significant only for cotinine.

Impact of Substance Use Disorder Pharmacotherapy on Executive Function: A Narrative Review

Substance use disorders are chronic, relapsing, and harmful conditions characterized by executive dysfunction. While there are currently no approved pharmacotherapy options for stimulant and cannabis use disorders, there are several evidence-based options available to help reduce symptoms during detoxification and aid long-term cessation for those with tobacco, alcohol and opioid use disorders. While these medication options have shown clinical efficacy, less is known regarding their potential to enhance executive function. This narrative review aims to provide a brief overview of research that has investigated whether commonly used pharmacotherapies for these substance use disorders (nicotine, bupropion, varenicline, disulfiram, acamprosate, nalmefene, naltrexone, methadone, buprenorphine, and lofexidine) effect three core executive function components (working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility). While pharmacotherapy-induced enhancement of executive function may improve cessation outcomes in dependent populations, there are limited and inconsistent findings regarding the effects of these medications on executive function. We discuss possible reasons for the mixed findings and suggest some future avenues of work that may enhance the understanding of addiction pharmacotherapy and cognitive training interventions and lead to improved patient outcomes.

Procognitive effects of varenicline in the animal model of schizophrenia depend on α4β2- and α 7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

BACKGROUND

Varenicline, a partial agonist of the α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α4β2-nAChR), is currently used to facilitate smoking cessation. Preclinical and clinical studies have suggested that this compound may also be effective in treating cognitive impairments in schizophrenia. However, it is unclear which nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes may be involved because varenicline is not only a partial agonist for α4β2-nAChRs but also a full agonist for α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7-nAChRs).

AIM

We investigated the effects of varenicline, compared to the α4β2-nAChR partial agonist TC-2403 and the α7-nAChR full agonist PNU-282987, in a ketamine-based model of schizophrenia-like cognitive deficits on the attentional set-shifting task in rats. The second goal was to elucidate whether the procognitive efficacy of varenicline was due to the compound's action on α4β2-nAChRs or α7-nAChRs.

METHODS

Ketamine was administered to rats for 10 consecutive days and the test was performed 14 days following the last injection. The tested compounds were administered 30 min prior to the attentional set-shifting task.

RESULTS

Varenicline, TC-2403 and PNU-282987 ameliorated ketamine-evoked set-shifting deficits. While the α4β2-nAChR antagonist dihydro-β-erythroidine and the α7-nAChR antagonist methyllycaconitine completely prevented the procognitive actions of TC-2403 and PNU-282987, respectively, varenicline's effect was only partially blocked by any given antagonist. Moreover, the combined treatment with TC-2403 and PNU-282987 more effectively facilitated rats' set-shifting ability than activation of either type of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alone.

CONCLUSION

The present findings demonstrated that varenicline's actions on both α7-nAChRs and α4β2-nAChRs may be necessary to produce its full procognitive effect in the present experimental setting.

Executive functioning: perspectives on neurotrophic activity and pharmacology

Executive functioning is a high-level cognitive ability, regulating other abilities and behaviors to achieve desired goals. A typical executive task can be defined as the capacity to maintain one's attention on the current task, that is, responding only to the correct but not to distractive stimuli. Impairments of executive functions, or executive dysfunctions, have a growing impact on everyday life and academic achievement and are usually an early feature, and one of the core features, in brain injury and memory and behavioral disorders. Furthermore, emerging evidence indicates that memory therapeutics cannot achieve their clinical benefits in cognition if executive dysfunction is not effectively and simultaneously treated. Improvement of executive functions might be achieved through targeting some signaling pathways in the brain, including the brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling pathways. These agents may be useful either as stand-alone interventions for patients with executive dysfunction and/or psychiatric and memory disorders or as essential adjuncts to drugs that target the underlying pathology in various brain injury and memory and behavioral disorders.

Cholinergic Modulation of Frontoparietal Cortical Network Dynamics Supporting Supramodal Attention

A critical function of attention is to support a state of readiness to enhance stimulus detection, independent of stimulus modality. The nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM) is the major source of the neurochemical acetylcholine (ACh) for frontoparietal cortical networks thought to support attention. We examined a potential supramodal role of ACh in a frontoparietal cortical attentional network supporting target detection. We recorded local field potentials (LFPs) in the prelimbic frontal cortex (PFC) and the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) to assess whether ACh contributed to a state of readiness to alert rats to an impending presentation of visual or olfactory targets in one of five locations. Twenty male Long-Evans rats underwent training and then lesions of the NBM using the selective cholinergic immunotoxin 192 IgG-saporin (0.3 μg/μl; ACh-NBM-lesion) to reduce cholinergic afferentation of the cortical mantle. Postsurgery, ACh-NBM-lesioned rats had less correct responses and more omissions than sham-lesioned rats, which changed parametrically as we increased the attentional demands of the task with decreased target duration. This parametric deficit was found equally for both sensory targets. Accurate detection of visual and olfactory targets was associated specifically with increased LFP coherence, in the beta range, between the PFC and PPC, and with increased beta power in the PPC before the target's appearance in sham-lesioned rats. Readiness-associated changes in brain activity and visual and olfactory target detection were attenuated in the ACh-NBM-lesioned group. Accordingly, ACh may support supramodal attention via modulating activity in a frontoparietal cortical network, orchestrating a state of readiness to enhance target detection.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We examined whether the neurochemical acetylcholine (ACh) contributes to a state of readiness for target detection, by engaging frontoparietal cortical attentional networks independent of modality. We show that ACh supported alerting attention to an impending presentation of either visual or olfactory targets. Using local field potentials, enhanced stimulus detection was associated with an anticipatory increase in power in the beta oscillation range before the target's appearance within the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) as well as increased synchrony, also in beta, between the prefrontal cortex and PPC. These readiness-associated changes in brain activity and behavior were attenuated in rats with reduced cortical ACh. Thus, ACh may act, in a supramodal manner, to prepare frontoparietal cortical attentional networks for target detection.

Why are Antidepressant Drugs Effective Smoking Cessation Aids?

BACKGROUND

Before the advent of varenicline, antidepressant drugs were reported to exhibit better clinical efficacy than nicotine replacement therapy as smoking cessation aids. The most studied is bupropion, a clinically-effective antidepressant, the first to be marketed throughout Europe for smoking cessation. Since depression and tobacco smoking have a high incidence of cooccurrence, this would implicate an underlying link between these two conditions. If this correlation can be confirmed, then by treating one condition the related state would also be treated.

OBJECTIVES

This review article will evaluate the various theories relating to the use of antidepressant drugs as smoking cessation aids and the underlying mechanisms link tobacco smoking and depression to explain the action of antidepressants in smoking cessation. One plausible theory of self-medication which proposes that people take nicotine to treat their own depressive symptoms and the affective withdrawal symptoms seen with abstinence from the drug. If the depression can instead be treated with antidepressants, then they may stop smoking altogether. Another theory is that the neurobiological pathways underlying smoking and depression may be similar. By targeting the pathways of depression in the brain, antidepressants would also treat the pathways affected by smoking and ease nicotine cravings and withdrawal. The role of genetic variation predisposing an individual to depression and initiation of tobacco smoking has also been discussed as a potential link between the two conditions. Such variation could either occur within the neurobiological pathways involved in both disorders or it could lead to an individual being depressed and selfmedicating with nicotine.

Short-term nicotine exposure induces long-lasting modulation of gustatory plasticity in Caenorhabditis elegans

Nicotine administration induces many effects on animal behavior. In wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans, gustatory plasticity results in reduced chemotaxis toward NaCl of otherwise attractive concentrations after pre-exposure to 100 mM NaCl in the absence of food. However, acute nicotine administration during a 15 min pre-exposure period inhibits gustatory plasticity, whereas chronic nicotine administration during worm development facilitates the plasticity. To investigate the relationship between the duration of nicotine administration and its effects, we exposed worms to nicotine for various periods during development. The modulatory effect of nicotine on gustatory plasticity was gradually switched from inhibition to facilitation with increased duration of nicotine administration. Moreover, inhibition of plasticity was sustained after relatively short-term chronic administration, with effects lasting for 45 h after the removal of nicotine. Similar to the acute inhibitory effect after 15 min nicotine pre-exposure, the inhibitory effect after short-term chronic administration was dependent on the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunit genes lev-1 and unc-29, and genes involved in serotonin biosynthesis bas-1 and tph-1. The impaired inhibition in bas-1 and tph-1mutants was recovered by exogenous serotonin, demonstrating that serotonin plays an important role in the long-lasting inhibitory effects of short-term chronic nicotine exposure.

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We analyzed gustatory plasticity of C. elegans after nicotine administration.

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Nicotine modulates gustatory plasticity in various ways.

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Nicotine inhibits gustatory plasticity after short-term chronic administration.

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The inhibitory effect was long-lasting even after removal of nicotine.

Varenicline, the clinically effective smoking cessation agent, restores probabilistic response reversal performance during withdrawal from nicotine

There is recognition that cognitive problems can contribute to renewed drug taking in former addicts. Our previous work has indicated that current smokers show reduced performance on a probabilistic reversal learning (PRL) task, relative to former smokers. To further explore PRL performance and its relevance to smoking, in addition to the role of nicotine, we developed a model of nicotine withdrawal-induced deficits in rodents. A second goal was to test varenicline, an α4β2 partial agonist, for its ability to restore any cognitive impairment. Acute effects of nicotine and varenicline on PRL performance in non-dependent animals were minimal and confined to speed of responding. When rats were made dependent on nicotine via osmotic minipumps implanted for 7 days (3.16 mg/kg/day), repeated tests at specified withdrawal time points revealed PRL disruption peaking at 12 and 24 hours following surgical removal of minipumps. Withdrawal was characterized by significant deficits in the number of reversals (P < 0.05), speed of responding (P < 0.01) and increases in omissions (P < 0.05). Nicotine (0.2 mg/kg SC) or varenicline (0.3 and 1.0 mg/kg SC) administered 10-minute prior to PRL test sessions during withdrawal, relieved the performance deficits. At 24-hour withdrawal, nicotine and varenicline (1 mg/kg) prevented decrements in reversals, in addition to ameliorating slower speed of responding. The high dose of varenicline only reduced omissions. These results confirm the role of nicotine in withdrawal-induced disruption of PRL performance and suggest that the model may be useful for investigating efficacy of potential new treatments for smoking cessation.

Adolescent binge ethanol exposure alters specific forebrain cholinergic cell populations and leads to selective functional deficits in the prefrontal cortex

Adolescence has been identified as a vulnerable developmental time period during which exposure to drugs can have long-lasting, detrimental effects. Although adolescent binge-like ethanol (EtOH) exposure leads to a significant reduction in forebrain cholinergic neurons, EtOH's functional effect on acetylcholine (ACh) release during behavior has yet to be examined. Using an adolescent intermittent ethanol exposure model (AIE), rats were exposed to binge-like levels of EtOH from postnatal days (PD) 25 to 55. Three weeks following the final EtOH exposure, cholinergic functioning was assessed during a spontaneous alternation protocol. During maze testing, ACh levels increased in both the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. However, selectively in the prefrontal cortex, AIE rats displayed reduced levels of behaviorally relevant ACh efflux. We found no treatment differences in spatial exploration, spatial learning, spatial reversal, or novel object recognition. In contrast, AIE rats were impaired during the first attentional set shift on an operant set-shifting task, indicative of an EtOH-mediated deficit in cognitive flexibility. A unique pattern of cholinergic cell loss was observed in the basal forebrain following AIE: Within the medial septum/diagonal band there was a selective loss (30%) of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-positive neurons that were nestin negative (ChAT+/nestin-); whereas in the Nucleus basalis of Meynert (NbM) there was a selective reduction (50%) in ChAT+/nestin+. These results indicate that early adolescent binge EtOH exposure leads to a long-lasting frontocortical functional cholinergic deficit, driven by a loss of ChAT+/nestin+ neurons in the NbM, which was associated with impaired cognitive flexibility during adulthood.

Nicotine versus 6-hydroxy-l-nicotine against chlorisondamine induced memory impairment and oxidative stress in the rat hippocampus

6-Hydroxy-l-nicotine (6HLN), a nicotine derivative from nicotine degradation by Arthrobacter nicotinovorans pAO1 strain was found to improve behavioral deficits and to reverse oxidative stress in the rat hippocampus. Rats were given CHL (10mg/kg, i.p.) were used as an Alzheimer's disease-like model. The nicotine (0.3mg/kg) and 6HLN (0.3mg/kg) were administered alone or in combination in the CHL-treated rats. Memory-related behaviors were evaluated using Y-maze and radial arm-maze tests. The antioxidant enzymes activity and the levels of the biomarkers of oxidative stress were measured in the hippocampus. Statistical analyses were performed using two-way ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc test. F values for which p<0.05 were regarded as statistically significant. CHL-caused memory deficits and oxidative stress enhancing were observed. Both nicotine and 6HLN administration attenuated the cognitive deficits and recovered the antioxidant capacity in the rat hippocampus of the CHL rat model. Our results suggest that 6HLN versus nicotine confers anti-amnesic properties in the CHL-induced a rat model of memory impairment via reversing cholinergic function and decreasing brain oxidative stress, suggesting the use of this compound as an alternative agent in AD treatment.

Brain Anatomy in Latino Farmworkers Exposed to Pesticides and Nicotine

OBJECTIVE

Migrant tobacco farmworkers experience regular occupational exposure to pesticides and nicotine. The present study was designed to determine whether there are differences in brain anatomy between Latino farmworkers and non-farmworkers.

METHODS

Magnetic resonance brain images were compared between farmworkers and non-farmworkers. In addition, blood cholinesterase activity and urinary cotinine levels were also used to identify associations with pesticide and nicotine exposure.

RESULTS

Farmworkers had greater gray matter signal in putamen and cerebellum, and lower gray matter signal in frontal and temporal lobes. Urinary cotinine was associated with the observed differences in brain anatomy, but blood cholinesterase activity was not.

CONCLUSIONS

Nicotine exposure was associated with neuroanatomical differences between Latino farmworkers and non-farmworkers. Future studies are needed to differentiate iron deposition from brain atrophy and to further assess the potential role of nicotine and pesticide exposure.

How can we Improve on Modeling Nicotine Addiction to Develop Better Smoking Cessation Treatments?

Clinically effective smoking cessation treatments are few in number, mainly varenicline, bupropion, and nicotine replacement therapy being prescribed by health organizations. Of the many compounds tested for smoking cessation, a good proportion fail in human trials despite positive findings in rodents. This chapter aims to cover the uses and some pit falls of current methodologies employed to discover clinical treatments in the laboratory. Complicating factors include the complex nature of genetics in tobacco smoking and the comorbidity associated with other psychiatric disorders, which has not been addressed fully in the rodent laboratory. This chapter reviews the evidence from intravenous nicotine self-administration studies and proposes modifications on how we can improve the validity of the animal models by incorporating clinically relevant factors considered to be critical in tobacco smoking. For example, choice procedures that incorporate alternative reinforcers, use of reinstatement models, and second-order schedules of reinforcement are proposed to have better scientific validity that may lead to better clinical outcomes. Furthermore, improved experimental methods will also improve our chances of discovering effective treatments that ultimately may mitigate the effects of tobacco smoking with regard to health worldwide.

Subtype-selective nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists can improve cognitive flexibility in an attentional set shifting task

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are considered to be viable targets to enhance cognition in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Activation of nAChRs with selective nicotinic receptor agonists may provide effective means to pharmacologically treat cognitive deficits observed in schizophrenia. Cognitive flexibility is one aspect of cognition, which can be assessed in a rodent model of the attentional set-shifting task (ASST). The aim of the present study was two-fold, firstly, to evaluate the efficacy of a series of subtype selective nAChR agonists, such as those that target α7 and α4β2 nAChR subtypes in non-compromised rodents. Secondly, nicotine as a prototypic agonist was evaluated for its effects to restore attentional deficits produced by sub-chronic ketamine exposure in the ASST. Male hooded Lister rats underwent habituation, consisting of a simple odour and medium discrimination with subsequent assessment 24 h later. In experimentally naïve rats, α7 subtype selective agonists, compound-A and SSR180711 along with PNU-120596, an α7 positive allosteric modulator (PAM), were compared against the β2* selective agonist, 5IA-85380. All compounds except for PNU-120596 were observed to significantly improve extra-dimensional (ED) shift performance, nicotine, 5IA-85380 and SSR180711 further enhanced the final reversal (REV3) stage of the task. In another experiment, sub-chronic ketamine treatment produced robust deficits during the ED and the REV3 stages of the discriminations; rodents required significantly more trials to reach criterion during these discriminations. These deficits were attenuated in rodents treated acutely with nicotine (0.1 mg/kg SC) 10 min prior to the ED shift. These results highlight the potential utility of targeting nAChRs to enhance cognitive flexibility, particularly the α7 and β2* receptor subtypes. The improvement with nicotine was much greater in rodents that were impaired following the sub-chronic ketamine exposure suggesting a greater therapeutic opportunity to target nicotinic receptors for patients diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Cognitive Dysfunction, Affective States, and Vulnerability to Nicotine Addiction: A Multifactorial Perspective

Although smoking prevalence has declined in recent years, certain subpopulations continue to smoke at disproportionately high rates and show resistance to cessation treatments. Individuals showing cognitive and affective impairments, including emotional distress and deficits in attention, memory, and inhibitory control, particularly in the context of psychiatric conditions, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, and mood disorders, are at higher risk for tobacco addiction. Nicotine has been shown to improve cognitive and emotional processing in some conditions, including during tobacco abstinence. Self-medication of cognitive deficits or negative affect has been proposed to underlie high rates of tobacco smoking among people with psychiatric disorders. However, pre-existing cognitive and mood disorders may also influence the development and maintenance of nicotine dependence, by biasing nicotine-induced alterations in information processing and associative learning, decision-making, and inhibitory control. Here, we discuss the potential forms of contribution of cognitive and affective deficits to nicotine addiction-related processes, by reviewing major clinical and preclinical studies investigating either the procognitive and therapeutic action of nicotine or the putative primary role of cognitive and emotional impairments in addiction-like features.

Pro-cognitive activity in rats of 3-furan-2-yl-N-p-tolyl-acrylamide, a positive allosteric modulator of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7 nAChRs) may represent useful targets for cognitive improvement. The aim of this study is to compare the pro-cognitive activity of selective α7-nAChR ligands, including the partial agonists, DMXBA and A-582941, as well as the positive allosteric modulator, 3-furan-2-yl-N-p-tolyl-acrylamide (PAM-2).

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

The attentional set-shifting task (ASST) and the novel object recognition task (NORT) in rats, were used to evaluate the pro-cognitive activity of each ligand [i.e., PAM-2 (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg·kg(-1) ), DMXBA and A-582941 (0.3 and 1.0 mg·kg(-1) )], in the absence and presence of methyllycaconitine (MLA), a selective competitive antagonist. To determine potential drug interactions, an inactive dose of PAM-2 (0.5 mg·kg(-1) ) was co-injected with inactive doses of either agonist - DMXBA: 0.1 (NORT); 0.3 mg·kg(-1) (ASST) or A-582941: 0.1 mg·kg(-1) .

KEY RESULTS

PAM-2, DMXBA, and A-582941 improved cognition in a MLA-dependent manner, indicating that the observed activities are mediated by α7 nAChRs. Interestingly, the co-injection of inactive doses of PAM-2 and DMXBA or A-582941 also improved cognition, suggesting drug interactions. Moreover, PAM-2 reversed the scopolamine-induced NORT deficit. The electrophysiological results also support the view that PAM-2 potentiates the α7 nAChR currents elicited by a fixed concentration (3 μM) of DMXBA with apparent EC50 = 34 ± 3 μM and Emax = 225 ± 5 %.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Our results support the view that α7 nAChRs are involved in cognition processes and that PAM-2 is a novel promising candidate for the treatment of cognitive disorders.

Nicotine Addiction and Psychiatric Disorders

Even though smoking rates have long been on the decline, nicotine addiction still affects 20% of the US population today. Moreover, nicotine dependence shows high comorbidity with many mental illnesses including, but are not limited to, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorders, and depression. The reason for the high rates of smoking in patients with mental illnesses may relate to attempts to self-medicate with nicotine. While nicotine may alleviate the symptoms of mental disorders, nicotine abstinence has been shown to worsen the symptoms of these disorders. In this chapter, we review the studies from animal and human research examining the bidirectional relationship between nicotine and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorders, and depression as well as studies examining the roles of specific subunits of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) in the interaction between nicotine and these mental illnesses. The results of these studies suggest that activation, desensitization, and upregulation of nAChRs modulate the effects of nicotine on mental illnesses.

Adult Behavior in Male Mice Exposed to E-Cigarette Nicotine Vapors during Late Prenatal and Early Postnatal Life

Nicotine exposure has been associated with an increased likelihood of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in offspring of mothers who smoked during pregnancy. The goal of this study was to determine if exposure to E-cigarette nicotine vapors during late prenatal and early postnatal life altered behavior in adult mice.

Activation of matrix metalloproteinase in dorsal hippocampus drives improvement in spatial working memory after intra-VTA nicotine infusion in rats

The hippocampus receives dopaminergic projections from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra. These inputs appear to provide a modulatory signal that influences hippocampus-dependent behaviors. Enhancements in working memory performance have been previously reported following acute smoking/nicotine exposure. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. This study investigated the effects of nicotine on spatial working memory (SWM) and the mechanisms involved. Delayed alternation T-maze task was used to assess SWM. In situ and gel gelatin zymography were used to detect matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in SWM. Systemic or local (intra-VTA) administration of nicotine significantly improves SWM, which was accompanied by increased MMP-9 activity in dorsal hippocampus (dHPC). Intra-dHPC administration of MMP inhibitor FN-439 abolished the memory enhancement induced by intra-VTA nicotine infusion. FN-439 had no effect on locomotor behavior. Our data suggest that intra-VTA nicotine infusion activates MMP-9 in dHPC to improve SWM in rats.

Positive allosteric modulation of alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors enhances recognition memory and cognitive flexibility in rats

A wide body of preclinical and clinical data suggests that alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (α7-nAChRs) may represent useful targets for cognitive improvement in schizophrenia and Alzheimer׳s disease. A promising recent approach is based on the use of positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of α7-nAChRs due to their several advantages over the direct agonists. Nevertheless, the behavioural effects of this class of compounds, particularly with regard to higher-order cognitive functions, have not been broadly characterised. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the procognitive efficacies of type I and type II α7-nAChRs PAMs, N-(4-chlorophenyl)-[[(4-chlorophenyl)amino]methylene]-3-methyl-5-isoxazoleacet-amide (CCMI) and N-(5-Chloro-2,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-N'-(5-methyl-3-isoxazolyl)urea (PNU-120596) in the novel object recognition task (NORT), attentional set-shifting task (ASST) and five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT) in rats. Additionally, the effects of galantamine, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor that also allosterically modulates nAChRs, were assessed. We report that CCMI (0.3-3mg/kg), PNU-120596 (0.3-3mg/kg) and galantamine (1-3mg/kg) attenuated the delay-induced impairment in NORT performance and facilitated cognitive flexibility in the ASST. Methyllycaconitine (3mg/kg) blocked the actions of CCMI, PNU-120596 and galantamine in the NORT and ASST, suggesting that the procognitive effects of these compounds are α7-nAChRs-dependent. However, none of the compounds tested affected the rats' attentional performance in the 5-CSRTT. The present findings confirm and extend the observations indicating that the positive allosteric modulation of α7-nAChRs enhances recognition memory and cognitive flexibility in preclinical tasks. Therefore, the present study supports the utility of α7-nAChRs PAMs as a potential cognitive enhancing therapy.

Inhibitory learning is modulated by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

Prior research has established that stimulating nicotinic acetylcholine receptors can facilitate learning and memory. However, most studies have focused on learning to emit a particular behavior, while little is known about the effects of nicotine on learning to withhold a behavioral response. The present study consisted of a dose response analysis of the effects of nicotine on negative occasion setting, a form of learned inhibition. In this paradigm, rats received one type of training trial in which presentation of a tone by itself was followed immediately by food reward. During the other type of trials, the tone was preceded by presentation of a light and no food was delivered after the tone. Rats gradually learned to approach the cup in anticipation of receiving food reward during presentations of the tone alone, but withheld that behavior when the tone was preceded by the light. Nicotine (0.35 mg/kg) facilitated negative occasion setting by reducing the number of sessions needed to learn the discrimination between trial types and by reducing the rate of responding on non-reinforced trials. Nicotine also increased the orienting response to the light, suggesting that nicotine may have affected the ability to withhold food cup behavior on non-reinforced trials by increasing attention to the light. In contrast to the effects of nicotine, rats treated with mecamylamine (0.125, 0.5, or 2 mg/kg) needed more training sessions to discriminate between reinforced and non-reinforced trials compared to saline-treated rats. The findings indicate that nicotinic acetylcholine receptors may be active during negative occasion setting and that nicotine can potentiate learned inhibition.

Negative affective states and cognitive impairments in nicotine dependence

Smokers have substantial individual differences in quit success in response to current treatments for nicotine dependence. This observation may suggest that different underlying motivations for continued tobacco use across individuals and nicotine cessation may require different treatments in different individuals. Although most animal models of nicotine dependence emphasize the positive reinforcing effects of nicotine as the major motivational force behind nicotine use, smokers generally report that other consequences of nicotine use, including the ability of nicotine to alleviate negative affective states or cognitive impairments, as reasons for continued smoking. These states could result from nicotine withdrawal, but also may be associated with premorbid differences in affective and/or cognitive function. Effects of nicotine on cognition and affect may alleviate these impairments regardless of their premorbid or postmorbid origin (e.g., before or after the development of nicotine dependence). The ability of nicotine to alleviate these symptoms would thus negatively reinforce behavior, and thus maintain subsequent nicotine use, contributing to the initiation of smoking, the progression to dependence and relapse during quit attempts. The human and animal studies reviewed here support the idea that self-medication for pre-morbid and withdrawal-induced impairments may be more important factors in nicotine addiction and relapse than has been previously appreciated in preclinical research into nicotine dependence. Given the diverse beneficial effects of nicotine under these conditions, individuals might smoke for quite different reasons. This review suggests that inter-individual differences in the diverse effects of nicotine associated with self-medication and negative reinforcement are an important consideration in studies attempting to understand the causes of nicotine addiction, as well as in the development of effective, individualized nicotine cessation treatments.

Chronic nicotine exposure augments gustatory plasticity in Caenorhabditis elegans: involvement of dopamine signaling

The chemotaxis of wild-type NaCl-conditioned nematodes exposed to 100 mM NaCl, maintained on a growth medium containing 0.3 mM nicotine from first larva to young adult (YA) hermaphrodite, was significantly weaker than the chemotaxis of those maintained on a medium without nicotine. The result indicates that chronic nicotine exposure augments gustatory plasticity. The gustatory plasticity was also augmented when tph-1 mutants, with a defect in serotonin biosynthesis, were maintained on a medium containing nicotine until the YA stage. Chronic nicotine exposure did not augment gustatory plasticity in bas-1 mutants, which had defects in both serotonin and dopamine biosynthesis, and in cat-2 mutants, which had a defect in dopamine biosynthesis. However, augmentation of gustatory plasticity was observed when bas-1 and cat-2 mutants were maintained on a growth medium containing nicotine along with dopamine, suggesting that dopamine signaling is involved in the augmentation of gustatory plasticity due to chronic nicotine exposure.

Executive function

Components of human executive function, like rule generation and selection in response to stimuli (attention set-shifting) or overcoming a habit (reversal learning), can be reliably modelled in rodents. The rodent paradigms are based upon tasks that assess cognitive flexibility in clinical populations and have been effective in distinguishing the neurobiological substrates and the underlying neurotransmitter systems relevant to executive function. A review of the literature on the attentional set-shifting task highlights a prominent role for the medial region of the prefrontal cortex in the ability to adapt to a new rule (extradimensional shift) while the orbitofrontal cortex has been associated with the reversal learning component of the task. In other paradigms specifically developed to examine reversal learning in rodents, the orbitofrontal cortex also plays a prominent role. Modulation of dopamine, serotonin, and glutamatergic receptors can disrupt executive function, a feature commonly exploited to develop concepts underlying psychiatric disorders. While these paradigms do have excellent translational construct validity, they have been less effective as predictive preclinical models for cognitive enhancers, especially for cognition in health subjects. Accordingly, a more diverse battery of tasks may be necessary to model normal human executive function in the rodent for drug development.

Nicotinic receptors and attention

Facilitation of different attentional functions by nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonists may be of therapeutic potential in disease conditions such as Alzheimer's disease or schizophrenia. For this reason, the neuronal mechanisms underlying these effects have been the focus of research in humans and in preclinical models. Attention-enhancing effects of the nonselective nAChR agonist nicotine can be observed in human nonsmokers and in laboratory animals, suggesting that benefits go beyond a reversal of withdrawal deficits in smokers. The ultimate aim is to develop compounds acting with greater selectivity than nicotine at a subset of nAChRs, with an effects profile narrowly matching the targeted cognitive deficits and minimizing unwanted effects. To date, compounds tested clinically target the nAChR subtypes most abundant in the brain. To help pinpoint more selectively expressed subtypes critical for attention, studies have aimed at identifying the secondary neurotransmitter systems whose stimulation mediates the attention-enhancing properties of nicotine. Evidence indicates that noradrenaline and glutamate, but not dopamine release, are critical mediators. Thus, attention-enhancing nAChR agents could spare the system central to nicotine dependence. Neuroimaging studies suggest that nAChR agonists act on a variety of brain systems by enhancing activation, reducing activation, and enhancing deactivation by attention tasks. This supports the notion that effects on different attentional functions may be mediated by distinct central mechanisms, consistent with the fact that nAChRs interact with a multitude of brain sites and neurotransmitter systems. The challenge will be to achieve the optimal tone at the right subset of nAChR subtypes to modulate specific attentional functions, employing not just direct agonist properties, but also positive allosteric modulation and low-dose antagonism.

Nicotinic, glutamatergic and dopaminergic synaptic transmission and plasticity in the mesocorticolimbic system: focus on nicotine effects

Cigarette smoking is currently the leading cause of preventable deaths and disability throughout the world, being responsible for about five million premature deaths/year. Unfortunately, fewer than 10% of tobacco users who try to stop smoking actually manage to do so. The main addictive agent delivered by cigarette smoke is nicotine, which induces psychostimulation and reward, and reduces stress and anxiety. The use of new technologies (including optogenetics) and the development of mouse models characterised by cell-specific deletions of receptor subtype genes or the expression of gain-of-function nAChR subunits has greatly increased our understanding of the molecular mechanisms and neural substrates of nicotine addiction first revealed by classic electrophysiological, neurochemical and behavioural approaches. It is now becoming clear that various aspects of nicotine dependence are mediated by close interactions of the glutamatergic, dopaminergic and γ-aminobutyric acidergic systems in the mesocorticolimbic system. This review is divided into two parts. The first provides an updated overview of the circuitry of the ventral tegmental area, ventral striatum and prefrontal cortex, the neurotransmitter receptor subtypes expressed in these areas, and their physiological role in the mesocorticolimbic system. The second will focus on the molecular, functional and behavioural mechanisms involved in the acute and chronic effects of nicotine on the mesocorticolimbic system.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in attention circuitry: the role of layer VI neurons of prefrontal cortex

Cholinergic modulation of prefrontal cortex is essential for attention. In essence, it focuses the mind on relevant, transient stimuli in support of goal-directed behavior. The excitation of prefrontal layer VI neurons through nicotinic acetylcholine receptors optimizes local and top-down control of attention. Layer VI of prefrontal cortex is the origin of a dense feedback projection to the thalamus and is one of only a handful of brain regions that express the α5 nicotinic receptor subunit, encoded by the gene chrna5. This accessory nicotinic receptor subunit alters the properties of high-affinity nicotinic receptors in layer VI pyramidal neurons in both development and adulthood. Studies investigating the consequences of genetic deletion of α5, as well as other disruptions to nicotinic receptors, find attention deficits together with altered cholinergic excitation of layer VI neurons and aberrant neuronal morphology. Nicotinic receptors in prefrontal layer VI neurons play an essential role in focusing attention under challenging circumstances. In this regard, they do not act in isolation, but rather in concert with cholinergic receptors in other parts of prefrontal circuitry. This review urges an intensification of focus on the cellular mechanisms and plasticity of prefrontal attention circuitry. Disruptions in attention are one of the greatest contributing factors to disease burden in psychiatric and neurological disorders, and enhancing attention may require different approaches in the normal and disordered prefrontal cortex.

Cholinergic contributions to supramodal attentional processes in rats

Cholinergic neurotransmission has been shown to play an important role in modulating attentional processing of visual stimuli. However, it is not yet clear whether the neurochemical acetylcholine (ACh) is necessary exclusively for visual attention, or if it also contributes to attentional functions through some modality-independent (supramodal) mechanism. To answer this question, we examined the effects of reduced cortical cholinergic afferentation on both a traditional visual and a novel olfactory five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT), the benchmark rodent test of sustained attention in rats. Following the successful acquisition of both modalities of the task, the rats underwent either a cholinergic immunotoxic- or sham-lesion surgery of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM), the basal forebrain nuclei that provide the majority of neocortical ACh. Reduced cholinergic afferentation to the neocortex was induced by bilaterally infusing the cholinergic immunotoxin 192 IgG-saporin into the NBM. After surgery, ACh-NBM-lesioned rats performed comparably to sham-lesioned rats under the conditions of low attentional demand, but displayed behavioral decrements relative to the sham-lesioned rats when the attentional demands of the task were increased. Moreover, this decrement in attentional functioning correlated significantly with the number of choline acetyltransferase-immunoreactive cells in the NBM. Importantly, the nature of this behavioral decrement was identical in the visual and olfactory 5-CSRTTs. Together, these data suggest the presence of a supramodal attentional modulatory cortical network whose activity is dependent on cholinergic innervation from the NBM.

Discriminative-stimulus effects of NS9283, a nicotinic α4β2* positive allosteric modulator, in nicotine-discriminating rats

RATIONALE

Neuronal α4β2* nicotinic acetylcholine receptors mediate cognition, pain, and the discriminative and reinforcing effects of nicotine. In addition to traditional orthosteric agonists, α4β2* positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) have recently been identified. With increased subtype selectivity relative to agonists, PAMs administered alone or in combination with low-dose α4β2* agonists may be used as powerful tools for increasing our understanding of α4β2* pharmacology.

OBJECTIVES

The present experiments tested the nicotine discriminative-stimulus effects of the α4β2* PAM NS9283 (A-969933) in the presence and absence of low-dose nicotine or nicotinic subtype-selective agonist.

METHODS

Rats were trained to discriminate 0.4 mg/kg nicotine from saline in a two-lever drug discrimination paradigm. In subsequent generalization tests, rats were administered nicotine, the α4β2*-preferring agonist ABT-594, and NS9283, alone or in two-drug combinations.

RESULTS

Nicotine and ABT-594 showed dose-dependent nicotine generalization. NS9283 alone resulted in a non-significant increase in nicotine-appropriate lever selection. Combination of non-effective doses of nicotine or ABT-594 with escalating doses of NS9283 resulted in a complete conversion to 100 % nicotine-appropriate choice in the case of nicotine combination and incomplete, though significant, generalization for ABT-594.

CONCLUSIONS

The α4β2* PAM NS9283 alone did not produce nicotine-like discriminative effects, but did demonstrate dose-related increases in nicotine lever choice when combined with a non-effective dose of nicotine or the α4β2* agonist ABT-594. This finding provides confirmation of the positive allosteric modulating effect of NS9283 in a functional in vivo paradigm. NS9283 is a potentially valuable tool for studying the role of α4β2* receptors in various nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-related functions.

The neural and genetic basis of executive function: attention, cognitive flexibility, and response inhibition

Executive function is a collection of cognitive processes essential for higher order mental function. Processes involved in executive function include, but are not limited to, working memory, attention, cognitive flexibility, and impulse control. These complex behaviors are largely mediated by prefrontal cortical function but are modulated by dopaminergic, noradrenergic, serotonergic, and cholinergic input. The ability of these neurotransmitter systems to modulate executive function allows for adaptation in cognitive behavior in response to changes in the environment. Because of the important role these neurotransmitter systems play in regulating executive function, changes in these systems can also have a grave impact on executive function. In addition, polymorphisms in genes associated with these neurotransmitters are associated with phenotypic differences in executive function. Understanding how these naturally occurring polymorphisms contribute to different executive function phenotypes will advance basic knowledge of cognition and potentially further understanding and treatment of mental illness that involve changes in executive function. In this review, we will examine the influence of dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, and acetylcholine on the following measures of executive function: attention, cognitive flexibility, and impulse control. We will also review the effects of polymorphisms in genes associated with these neurotransmitter systems on these measures of executive function.

Cognitive function during nicotine withdrawal: Implications for nicotine dependence treatment

Nicotine withdrawal is associated with deficits in neurocognitive function including sustained attention, working memory, and response inhibition. Several convergent lines of evidence suggest that these deficits may represent a core dependence phenotype and a target for treatment development efforts. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying withdrawal-related cognitive deficits may lead to improve nicotine dependence treatment. We begin with an overview of the neurocognitive effects of withdrawal in rodent and human models, followed by discussion of the neurobehavioral mechanisms that are thought to underlie these effects. We then review individual differences in withdrawal-related neurocognitive effects including genetics, gender, and psychiatric comorbidity. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this research for developing improved therapies, both pharmacotherapy and behavioral treatments, that target cognitive symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled 'NIDA 40th Anniversary Issue'.

Effects of chronic low- and high-dose nicotine on cognitive flexibility in C57BL/6J mice

The addictive nature of nicotine remains a global health problem. Despite the availability of treatments for smoking cessation, relapse to smoking after quit attempts still remains very high. Here, we evaluated the effects of chronic nicotine in male C57BL/6J mice in an operant cognitive flexibility task that required the animals to progress sequentially through multiple phases including visual discrimination, strategy shifting and response reversal. As frontostriatal circuits involving discrete regions of dorsal striatum contribute directly to decision-making processes, and BDNF modulates synaptic plasticity and learning, we also assessed the effects of nicotine on striatal BDNF expression. Osmotic minipumps containing either of the two doses of nicotine (low: 6.3 mg/kg/day; high: 18 mg/kg/day) or saline (control) were implanted for chronic delivery that lasted 4 weeks. Nicotine-treated mice exhibited greater response accuracy during visual discrimination. Neither dose of nicotine affected learning of new egocentric response strategy during set-shifting. However, higher but not lower dose of nicotine impaired reversal learning by increasing perseverative responding to the previously non-reinforced stimulus. Furthermore, this effect was associated with reduced BDNF levels in the dorsal striatum. Collectively, these findings suggest that higher relapse rates often observed in high nicotine-dependent smokers may be attributed to impairments in inhibitory control processes. Moreover, striatal BDNF may play a critical role in nicotine-induced alterations in cognitive flexibility.