title: The effects of nicotine on learning and memory: a neuropsychological assessment in young and senescent Fischer 344 rats.
abstract: The effects of chronic nicotine on the behavioral performance of young (4 month) and old (24 month) Fischer-344 rats were assessed on four behavioral tasks: activity chamber. rotating rod, serial pattern learning, and Morris water maze paradigm. Old and young nicotine-treated rats received an intraperitoneal injection of nicotine (0.20 mg/kg) 15 min prior to all behavioral testing, and old and young saline-treated rats received saline injections 15 min prior to all behavioral testing. Nicotine improved motor coordination and increased the general activity levels of the old rats compared to old saline-treated rats. There were no significant differences in the behaviors of the young rats in these behavioral evaluations. In young rats, nicotine improved the acquisition of a serial pattern, suggesting an improvement in working memory or related processes. Nicotine was found to increase swim speed in a Morris water maze paradigm with a hidden platform; however, no beneficial effects of nicotine in reference memory were obtained for either age group. These results suggests that nicotine may not be as beneficial in attenuating age-related learning and memory deficits as once proposed.
authors.affiliation: Georgia College & State University, Department of Psychology, Milledgeville 31061, USA.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Attaway
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Compton
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Turner
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D004924:Escape Reaction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009949:Orientation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D013028:Space Perception / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D009538:Nicotine