Selective effects of nicotine on attentional processes

Mancuso, Giovanna; Warburton, David M.; Marc, Melen; Sherwood, N.; Tirelli, Ezio

doi:10.1007/s002130051107

Cited by 103 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…In normal human subjects, nicotine administration has consistently been shown to enhance attention by reducing omissions . This is consistent with the hypothesis of Mancuso et al (1999), whereby the nicotine-induced improvement in attention is a consequence of nicotine acting to 'lock the brain into the attentional processing mode and so there are fewer lapses in attention', hence fewer errors of omission might be expected. However, an improvement in accuracy (proportion correct) following nicotine administration has also been observed in subjects displaying impaired attentional function, associated with schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (White and Levin, 1999;Shytle et al, 2002;Yang et al, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Nicotine, the predominant psychoactive compound in tobacco smoke, has been shown to enhance sustained attention in normal humans by reducing omission levels . Moreover, it has been suggested that nicotine can lock the brain into an attentional processing mode whereby there are fewer lapses in attention and therefore less omissions (Mancuso et al, 1999). These observations may underlie the ability of nicotine to enhance attention and improve the symptomatology of various human diseases including schizophrenia (Yang et al, 2002), Alzheimer's disease (White and Levin, 1999), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Shytle et al, 2002), Parkinson's disease (O'Neill et al, 2002), and Tourette's syndrome (Sanberg et al, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nicotine Improves Sustained Attention in Mice: Evidence for Involvement of the α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor

Young

Finlayson

Spratt

et al. 2004

Neuropsychopharmacol

209

174

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In humans, nicotine has been shown to improve attention in both normal and impaired individuals. Observations in rats reflect some, but not all aspects of the nicotine-induced improvements in humans. To date these findings have not been replicated in mice. To examine the effect of nicotine on sustained attention in mice, we have established a version of the 5-choice serial reaction-time (5-CSR) task with graded levels of difficulty, based upon spatial displacement and a variable intertrial interval. Using this paradigm, microgram doses of nicotine produced a consistent reduction in the level of omissions and an improvement in proportion correct in normal mice. This improvement in sustained attention was made irrespectively of whether mice had previously received nicotine. In an attempt to elucidate which nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subtype(s) mediate this effect, we examined the performance of a7 nAChR knockout (KO) mice in the 5-CSR task. a7 nAChR KO mice not only acquired the task more slowly than their wild-type littermates, but on attaining asymptotic performance, they exhibited a higher level of omissions. In conclusion, by increasing the level of task difficulty, the performance of mice was maintained at sufficiently low levels to allow a demonstrable improvement in performance upon nicotine administration. Furthermore, as a7 KO mice are clearly impaired in the acquisition and asymptotic performance of this task, the a7 nAChR may be involved in mediating these effects of nicotine.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nicotine Improves Sustained Attention in Mice: Evidence for Involvement of the α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor

Young

Finlayson

Spratt

et al. 2004

Neuropsychopharmacol

209

174

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Administration of nicotine to abstinent smokers improves general alertness, attention, and vigilance [4,5]. Nicotine improves performance on vigilance tasks [6,7], inhibition of prepotent responses [8], and verbal learning [9] in nonsmokers. Effects such as these, however, are thought to reflect an influence on general alertness, rather than the primary influence of specific cognitive domains [10,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuropsychological function in patients with a single gene mutation associated with autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy

Wood¹,

Saling²,

Fedi³

et al. 2010

Epilepsy & Behavior

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a b s t r a c tAutosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (ADNFLE) is a nonlesional condition associated with mutation of the gene coding for the a4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). The nAChR modulates aspects of memory and attention. We examined the neuropsychological phenotype of ADNFLE, with a particular emphasis on understanding the impact on frontal lobe functions. We used standard clinical tests as well as focused measures of frontal lobe function in a well-defined group of patients with ADN-FLE. Their performance was compared with that of a group of age-, sex-, and education-matched control participants. Patients with ADNFLE showed impairments on tasks requiring cognitive flexibility against a background of well-preserved intellectual abilities. In accord with existing research, verbal memory impairments were identified in the patient group; the level of impairment on these tasks correlated with disease-related factors. In our study of ADNFLE associated with one mutation, cognitive flexibility appears to be the core cognitive deficit.Crown

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“…While enhanced performance on the Stroop Task (ie, reduced Stroop effect) after cigarette smoking has been observed in abstinent smokers (412 h) (Mancuso et al, 1999;Pomerleau et al, 1994), it was not clear whether this effect was due to relief from nicotine withdrawal, a facilitating effect of nicotine on selective attention (beyond the preabstinence level), or a combination of both (for review see Heishman et al (1994)). Some studies found that administration of nicotine per se (Provost and Woodward, 1991) or cigarette smoking (Hasenfratz and Battig, 1992;Provost and Woodward, 1991) decreased the Stroop effect in nonsmokers (Provost and Woodward, 1991) or smokers smoking ad libitum (Hasenfratz and Battig, 1992;Provost and Woodward, 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Cigarette Smoking on Prefrontal Cortical Function in Nondeprived Smokers Performing the Stroop Task

Mendrek

Cohen

et al. 2006

Neuropsychopharmacol

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Some reports indicate that cigarette smoking can help smokers focus attention, even when they have not abstained from smoking for a substantial period of time (eg, 41 h). Understanding the mechanisms by which smoking affects attention may help in designing smoking cessation treatments. Thirteen nonsmokers and nine smokers participated in two tests of blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). During fMRI, the participants performed the Stroop Task. There was a 15-min break between the two tests. During the break, each smoker smoked one cigarette. For smokers, the first test began 45-60 min after the last cigarette of ad libitum smoking. The differences in BOLD signal changes between Stroop conditions (ie, incongruent minus congruent) showed a group Â test interaction in the right precentral sulcus, including the putative human frontal eye field (FEF). Smokers, but not nonsmokers, showed greater changes (relative to rest) in BOLD signal in the incongruent than in the congruent condition in the first fMRI test but not in the second. Even after brief abstinence from smoking, therefore, smokers exhibit compromised functional efficiency in the right FEF and adjacent precentral sulcus in a test of selective attention; and smoking ameliorates this condition.

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Selective effects of nicotine on attentional processes

Abstract: The results are consistent with the hypothesis that nicotine mainly improves the intensity feature of attention, rather than the selectivity feature.

Cited by 103 publications

References 21 publications

Nicotine Improves Sustained Attention in Mice: Evidence for Involvement of the α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor

Nicotine Improves Sustained Attention in Mice: Evidence for Involvement of the α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor

Neuropsychological function in patients with a single gene mutation associated with autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy

Effect of Cigarette Smoking on Prefrontal Cortical Function in Nondeprived Smokers Performing the Stroop Task

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