Nicotine trained as a negative feature passes the retardation-of-acquisition and summation tests of a conditioned inhibitor

Murray, Jennifer E.; Walker, Andrew W.; Li, Chia; Wells, Nicole R.; Penrod, Rachel D.; Bevins, Rick A.

doi:10.1101/lm.2177411

Cited by 14 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…This results in a classically testable form of inhibition, in which the feature can delay excitatory conditioning of a novel cue (retardation) and suppress responding to another excitatory CS when introduced into a compound with this CS (summation). Note that while it is true that prior studies have examined nicotine in the context of occasion setting or conditioned inhibition (Bevins et al, 2006; Murray et al, 2011; Palmatier & Bevins, 2008), those studies have asked a fundamentally different question than the one address here. Indeed, in the studies by Bevins and colleagues, nicotine itself was used as the stimulus (i.e., nicotine itself was the occasion setter or the conditioned inhibitor).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Inhibitory learning is modulated by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

2015

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Prior research has established that stimulating nicotinic acetylcholine receptors can facilitate learning and memory. However, most studies have focused on learning to emit a particular behavior, while little is known about the effects of nicotine on learning to withhold a behavioral response. The present study consisted of a dose response analysis of the effects of nicotine on negative occasion setting, a form of learned inhibition. In this paradigm, rats received one type of training trial in which presentation of a tone by itself was followed immediately by food reward. During the other type of trials, the tone was preceded by presentation of a light and no food was delivered after the tone. Rats gradually learned to approach the cup in anticipation of receiving food reward during presentations of the tone alone, but withheld that behavior when the tone was preceded by the light. Nicotine (0.35mg/kg) facilitated negative occasion setting by reducing the number of sessions needed to learn the discrimination between trial types and by reducing the rate of responding on non-reinforced trials. Nicotine also increased the orienting response to the light, suggesting that nicotine may have affected the ability to withhold food cup behavior on non-reinforced trials by increasing attention to the light. In contrast to the effects of nicotine, rats treated with mecamylamine (0.125, 0.5, or 2 mg/kg) needed more training sessions to discriminate between reinforced and non-reinforced trials compared to saline-treated rats. The findings indicate that nicotinic acetylcholine receptors may be active during negative occasion setting and that nicotine can potentiate learned inhibition.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Inhibitory learning is modulated by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

2015

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“…Nicotine has been shown to serve as a discriminative stimulus (Palmatier & Bevins 2008). Furthermore, Bevins and colleagues have demonstrated a role for nicotine as a CS+ or CS- itself (Murray & Bevins 2007; Murray et al 2011), and that the interoceptive stimulus effects of nicotine can even overshadow a light stimulus in gaining control of conditioned responding for sucrose (Murray & Bevins 2011). Clearly, nicotine has a powerful ability to serve as an informative cue.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nicotine increases sucrose self‐administration and seeking in rats

et al. 2012

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Associations between nicotine in cigarettes and food consumption may alter the incentive value of food such that food cue-reactivity is exaggerated during abstinence from smoking. This effect may contribute to the weight gain associated with cessation of smoking. We examined the effects of nicotine (0.4 mg/kg base SC) paired (NPD) or unpaired (NUP) with 10 % sucrose self-administration (0.2 ml/delivery, 1h/day for 10 days) on self-administration response rate and intake as well as sucrose cue-reactivity following either 1 or 30 days of forced abstinence. Rats were administered the training dose of nicotine prior to a second, consecutive cue-reactivity session. NPD rats responded at over 3 times the rate for sucrose, and earned nearly twice the number of sucrose deliveries, as NUP rats or saline controls. Sucrose cue-reactivity was greater after 30 days, vs. 1 day of forced abstinence for all groups. History of nicotine exposure had no effect on sucrose cue-reactivity. However, the subsequent injection of nicotine increased sucrose cue-reactivity only in the NPD groups. There were no abstinent-dependent effects of nicotine challenge on sucrose cue-reactivity. A study conducted in parallel with water as the reinforcer revealed a less dramatic effect of nicotine on intake. There was no history or abstinence-dependent effects of nicotine on water cue-reactivity. Nicotine increases the reinforcing effects of sucrose and sucrose-paired cues when nicotine is present. An implication of these findings is that relapse to nicotine (cigarettes) could substantially elevate food cue-reactivity.

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“…Boakes, 1977;Farwell & Ayres, 1979; in our case, the dipper receptacle). Critically, conditioned responding in this task does not reflect state-dependent learning (for more on this topic see: Bevins, Penrod, & Reichel, 2007;Murray et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the interoceptive stimulus effects of nicotine and varenicline

Thompson

Barrett

Bevins

2019

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior

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Learning processes associated with nicotine influence the development of addiction to tobacco products. In the present report, we are interested in the interoceptive stimulus effects of nicotine acquiring control over appetitive behaviors-specifically, reward seeking. Also of interest is the current smoking cessation drug, varenicline (Chantix®). Varenicline, with its nicotine-like stimulus effects, can decrease withdrawal and cravings for a subset of individuals addicted to nicotine, though relapse is still common. We trained rats (N=48) with nicotine (0.4 mg/kg, SC) as an excitatory stimulus (i.e., paired with sucrose) in a drug-discriminated goal-tracking (DGT) task. There was no access to sucrose on interspersed saline days. After acquisition of the initial nicotine-saline discrimination, rats were separated into four groups to test discrimination reversal and drug substitution. The control group maintained nicotine as the excitatory stimulus (NIC+). The substitution group had varenicline (1 mg/kg) replace nicotine as the stimulus paired with sucrose (VAR+). One reversal group had nicotine signal the absence of sucrose (i.e., now available on intermixed saline sessions; NIC-). The last group was similar to the NIC-group except varenicline replaced nicotine on non-reinforced sessions (VAR-). We found that varenicline fully substituted as the training stimulus when the drug-sucrose relation remained in place (VAR+). Both reversal groups acquired the new discrimination, albeit slowly and more variable for the VAR-group in comparison to NIC-. There was an effect of group during substitution testing. Specifically, nicotine fully substituted for varenicline regardless of condition. However, varenicline only partially substituted for the nicotine stimulus. At the start of extinction, responding mimicked that of the rats training condition. However, by extinction session 12, all groups maintained similarly low levels of responding. These findings show nicotine and varenicline share stimulus elements, yet the conclusion of partial to full substitution depends on the nature of the testing protocol.

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Nicotine trained as a negative feature passes the retardation-of-acquisition and summation tests of a conditioned inhibitor

Cited by 14 publications

References 33 publications

Inhibitory learning is modulated by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

Inhibitory learning is modulated by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

Nicotine increases sucrose self‐administration and seeking in rats

Exploring the interoceptive stimulus effects of nicotine and varenicline

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