Protection by nicotine from behavioral disruption caused by reticular formation stimulation in the rat.
Male Sprague-Dawley rats prepared with chronic electrodes in the mesencephalic reticular formation were trained to perform on a visual attention task. Short trains of electric current delivered to the reticular formation effectively blocked performance in a reversible and reproducible fashion. Subcutaneous administration of 100 mug/kg nicotine (as the base) served to attenuate the behavioral disruption caused by reticular stimulation. The suggestion that it is a nicotine-induced limbic system activation which antagonizes the behavioral disruption caused by electrically-induced reticular over-activation, is discussed.
D000818:Animals; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D008297:Male; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D012154:Reticular Formation / Q000502:physiology*
D009538:Nicotine