Nicotine-induced enhancement of Pavlovian alcohol-seeking behavior in rats

Nicotine enhances responding elicited by Pavlovian cues that predict positive outcomes.

We tested the hypothesis that nicotine acting at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) would augment Pavlovian alcohol-seeking.

Male, Long-Evans rats with unrestricted access to food and water were acclimated to drinking 15% ethanol in their home cages and then given Pavlovian conditioning sessions in which each trial of a 15-s conditioned stimulus (CS, 12 trials/session) was paired with 0.2 ml of ethanol (unconditioned stimulus, US, 2.4 ml/session). Entries into a port where ethanol was delivered were used to assess conditioning. Control groups received explicitly unpaired trials of the CS and US. In experiment 1, systemic injections of saline (1 ml/kg) or nicotine (0.4 mg/kg, freebase) were administered before each session. In experiments 2 and 3, an identical regimen of saline or nicotine injections was administered before the start of Pavlovian conditioning sessions.

All paired groups acquired conditioned port-entry responding to the CS, indicative of Pavlovian alcohol-seeking, whereas unpaired control group did not. Pre-session nicotine injections increased CS port-entries relative to saline, only in the paired group. This nicotine-induced enhancement of Pavlovian alcohol-seeking was blocked by pre-treatment with the nAChR antagonist mecamylamine. Prior exposure to nicotine did not influence the subsequent acquisition of Pavlovian alcohol-seeking.

These findings highlight for the first time that nicotine acting at nAChRs augments Pavlovian alcohol-seeking, specifically in non-restricted rats. Individuals who smoke and drink may thus be particularly susceptible to alcohol cues that could trigger further drinking.