Concurrent access to nicotine and sucrose in rats
Leigh V Panlilio1, Lee Hogarth, Mohammed Shoaib
1Preclinical Pharmacology Section, Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA, lpanlili@mail.nih.gov.
Psychopharmacology
|November 5, 2014
Summary
Rats self-administered nicotine even when sucrose was available, demonstrating nicotine use occurs with alternative reinforcers. This concurrent access model offers a more naturalistic approach to studying nicotine addiction and potential treatments.
Area of Science:
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Addiction Research
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Animal models are crucial for understanding drug use, especially when offering access to both drug and non-drug rewards.
- Concurrent access models provide insights into the causes, persistence, and treatment of substance use disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and implement a concurrent access procedure using nicotine and sucrose in a rat model.
- To investigate nicotine self-administration when alternative palatable non-drug reinforcers are available.
Main Methods:
- Rats pressed one lever for intravenous nicotine and another for sucrose pellets.
- Both nicotine and sucrose were freely available during daily experimental sessions.
- Varying pre-training and environmental conditions (food restriction, lever removal) were manipulated.
Main Results:
- Rats previously exposed to both nicotine and sucrose showed higher responding for sucrose.
- Rats exclusively pre-trained with nicotine exhibited varied responses, with some preferring nicotine.
- Varenicline selectively reduced nicotine intake, while food restriction and sucrose lever removal increased it.
Conclusions:
- Nicotine self-administration persists even when palatable non-drug reinforcers are concurrently available.
- The concurrent access procedure offers a more ecologically valid model for human nicotine use compared to single-reinforcer models.
- This model can aid in evaluating therapeutic agents and understanding environmental influences on nicotine consumption.
