title: Subjective, physiological, and cognitive responses to intravenous nicotine: effects of sex and menstrual cycle phase.
abstract: Nicotine dependence is a serious public health concern. Optimal treatment of nicotine dependence will require greater understanding of the mechanisms that contribute to the maintenance of smoking behaviors. A growing literature indicates sex and menstrual phase differences in responses to nicotine. The aim of this study was to assess sex and menstrual phase influences on a broad range of measures of nicotine response including subjective drug effects, cognition, physiological responses, and symptoms of withdrawal, craving, and affect. Using a well-established intravenous nicotine paradigm and biochemical confirmation of overnight abstinence and menstrual cycle phase, analyses were performed to compare sex (age 18-50 years; 115 male and 45 female) and menstrual cycle phase (29 follicular and 16 luteal) effects. Females had diminished subjective drug effects of, but greater physiological responses to, nicotine administration. Luteal-phase females showed diminished subjective drug effects and better cognition relative to follicular-phase women. These findings offer candidate mechanisms through which the luteal phase, wherein progesterone is dominant relative to estradiol, may be protective against vulnerability to smoking.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Elise E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: DeVito
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA [2] VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Aryeh I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Herman
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Science, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Waters
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA [2] VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Gerald W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Valentine
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA [2] VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Mehmet
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sofuoglu
mesh_terms: D061605:Administration, Intravenous; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D058999:Drug-Seeking Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005498:Follicular Phase / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008183:Luteal Phase / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009538:Nicotine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D009538:Nicotine