Nicotinic effects on cognitive function: behavioral characterization, pharmacological specification, and anatomic localization

Levin, Edward D.; McClernon, F. Joseph; Rezvani, Amir H.

doi:10.1007/s00213-005-0164-7

Cited by 722 publications

(463 citation statements)

References 182 publications

(179 reference statements)

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“…PPF is an orienting or attentional mechanism by which a prepulse stimulus leads to a stronger startle response (Filion et al, 1993;Hazlett et al, 1998;Wynn et al, 2004). One of the consistent nicotinic effects mediated by the nicotinic cholinergic system is the enhancement of orienting and attention (eg Witte et al, 1997;Levin et al, 2006). In our study nicotine did not increase facilitation of startle response but rather led to increased inhibition, similar to its effect in the 120 ms condition.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Nicotine Effect on Prepulse Inhibition and Prepulse Facilitation in Schizophrenia Patients

Hong

Wonodi

Lewis

et al. 2007

Neuropsychopharmacol

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Acoustic prepulse inhibition (PPI) is considered an important biomarker in animal studies of psychosis and a number of psychiatric conditions. Nicotine has been shown to improve acoustic PPI in some animal strains and in humans. However, there is little data on effects of nicotine on acoustic PPI in schizophrenia patients using a double-blind, placebo-controlled study design. The primary aim of the current study was to test the effect of nicotine nasal spray on acoustic PPI in schizophrenia patients. The secondary aim was to test nicotine effect on prepulse facilitation (PPF). The study included 18 schizophrenia patient smokers and 12 healthy control smokers, tested in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover, randomized design immediately after nicotine or saline placebo nasal sprays. PPI was tested using 120 ms prepulse-pulse interval. PPF was tested using 4500 ms prepulse-pulse interval. The results showed a significant main effect of drug on PPI in that nicotine improved PPI compared to placebo (p ¼ 0.008) with no drug by diagnosis interaction (p ¼ 0.90). Improvement in PPI in response to nicotine was significantly correlated with the baseline severity of clinical symptoms (r ¼ 0.59, p ¼ 0.02) in patients. There was no significant drug or drug by diagnosis interaction for the 4500 ms prepulse-pulse interval condition. However, nicotine improved inhibition in a subgroup of subjects exhibiting PPF (p ¼ 0.002). In conclusion, the findings confirmed that nicotine transiently improves acoustic PPI in schizophrenia patients. Additionally, schizophrenia patients with more clinical symptoms may have benefited more from nicotinic effect on PPI.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Nicotine Effect on Prepulse Inhibition and Prepulse Facilitation in Schizophrenia Patients

Hong

Wonodi

Lewis

et al. 2007

Neuropsychopharmacol

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“…The cholinergic neurotransmitter system is generally considered to play a pivotal role in memory and attention modulation (Kruk-Slomka et al 2012;Robins and Roberts 2007). Thus nicotinic activation of the prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex, thalamus and hippocampus -areas dense in nicotinic acetylcholine receptors -is thought to mediate its effects on memory and attention (Levin et al 2006). 4 Whilst studies on the effects of abstinence and nicotine administration on working memory abound, prospective memory has received very little attention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nicotine derived from the electronic cigarette improves time-based prospective memory in abstinent smokers

2013

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Rationale: It is well-established that nicotine improves, and deprivation impairs, cognitive performance and mood in smokers. Prospective memory (PM), remembering to execute a delayed intention at a given time point, is under-explored in smokers. Whilst a handful of studies have shown improved PM with nicotine, effects of nicotine delivered via the electronic cigarette have not been investigated.Objective: This study explores whether, by comparison with placebo, nicotine delivered via the e-cigarette can improve PM, tobacco withdrawal symptoms and desire to smoke in abstinent smokers.Methods: Twenty smokers, abstinent for 8-10 hours, each completed two experimental sessions under nicotine (18mg) and placebo (0mg) e-cigarette conditions. Participants completed a single-item desire to smoke scale and the Mood and Physical Symptoms Scale (MPSS). PM was measured using the Cambridge Prospective Memory Test (CAMPROMPT).Results: Compared with placebo, the nicotine e-cigarette reduced desire to smoke and tobacco withdrawal symptoms, and improved time-based but not event-based PM. There was a moderate, marginally significant negative correlation between PM performance during abstinence and nicotine dependence.Conclusions: This is the first study to show that nicotine derived via e-cigarette can improve PM in abstinent smokers suggesting efficient nicotine delivery. That the effect of nicotine was restricted to time-based rather than event-based PM is consistent with the view that nicotine acts to improve performance on strategic (effortful) rather than automatic processing. These findings add to the growing body of evidence that the e-cigarette can replace some of the effects of nicotine derived from tobacco smoking thus highlighting its potential for smoking cessation.

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“…The mechanisms by which nicotine enhances cognitive performance are not fully understood. Nicotine, via binding to presynaptic nicotinic cholinergic receptors, facilitates the release of various neurotransmitters, including dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, glutamate, and acetylcholine, all of which have been implicated in cognitive functioning (Levin et al, 2006;Wonnacott, 1997). However, two nicotinic receptor subtypes, a4b2 and a7, have been shown to be involved in learning and memory.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dose-Related Enhancement of Mood and Cognition in Smokers Administered Nicotine Nasal Spray

Myers

Taylor

Moolchan

et al. 2007

Neuropsychopharmacol

126

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The discovery of the role of nicotinic receptors in attention and memory has led to the testing of nicotinic analogs as cognitive enhancing agents in patient populations. Empirical information about nicotine's ability to enhance elements of attention and memory in normal individuals might guide development of therapeutic uses of nicotine in cognitively impaired populations. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of nicotine on continuous attention, working memory, and computational processing in tobacco-deprived and nondeprived smokers. A total of 28 smokers (14 men, 14 women) participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject study, in which they were overnight (12 h) tobacco deprived at one session and smoked ad libitum before the other session. At each session, participants received 0, 1, and 2 mg nicotine via nasal spray in random order at 90 min intervals. Before and after each dose, a battery of cognitive, subjective, and physiological measures was administered, and blood samples were taken for plasma nicotine concentration. Overnight tobacco deprivation resulted in impaired functioning on all cognitive tests and increased self-reports of tobacco craving and negative mood; nicotine normalized these deficits. In the nondeprived condition, nicotine enhanced performance on the continuous performance test (CPT) and an arithmetic test in a dose-related manner, but had no effect on working memory. In general, women were more sensitive than men to the subjective effects of nicotine. These results provide an unequivocal determination that nicotine enhanced attentional and computational abilities in nondeprived smokers and suggest these cognitive domains as substrates for novel therapeutic indications.

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Nicotinic effects on cognitive function: behavioral characterization, pharmacological specification, and anatomic localization

Cited by 722 publications

References 182 publications

Nicotine Effect on Prepulse Inhibition and Prepulse Facilitation in Schizophrenia Patients

Nicotine Effect on Prepulse Inhibition and Prepulse Facilitation in Schizophrenia Patients

Nicotine derived from the electronic cigarette improves time-based prospective memory in abstinent smokers

Dose-Related Enhancement of Mood and Cognition in Smokers Administered Nicotine Nasal Spray

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