Nicotine improves cognitive disturbance in rodents fed with a choline-deficient diet.
The effect of nicotine on learning disturbances was tested in rats. Rats were fed either a choline-enriched or a choline-deficient diet. Concentration of acetylcholine in the whole brain was significantly lower in rats fed with choline-deficient diet than rats fed with choline-enriched diet. Passive avoidance learning shows that rats on a choline-deficient diet showed significantly impaired learning compared to rats on a choline-enriched diet. Nicotine (0.04 mg/kg) administered intraperitoneally significantly potentiated learning in rats on a choline-deficient diet, as well as in rats on a choline-enriched diet. We, therefore, suggest that nicotine may potentiate learning in an acetylcholine-deprived brain.
Sasaki
H
H
Department of Geriatric Medicine, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
Yanai
M
M
Meguro
K
K
Sekizawa
K
K
Ikarashi
Y
Y
Maruyama
Y
Y
Yamamoto
M
M
Matsuzaki
Y
Y
Takishima
T
T
D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000172:deficiency / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D002794:Choline / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000378:metabolism; D002796:Choline Deficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D004032:Diet; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
D009538:Nicotine; D002794:Choline; D000109:Acetylcholine