Cardiovascular, electrocortical, and behavioral effects of nicotine chewing gum

The cardiovascular, electrocortical, and behavioral effects of orally administered nicotine during rapid information processing were assessed in deprived female smokers. In a pre-post treatment design, 10 subjects received a 4-mg nicotine chewing gum and 10 subjects a placebo. The mental task required the subjects to watch single digits presented in a pseudorandom order on a screen and to press a button whenever the last three digits were either odd or even. The presentation rate decreased after each error and increased after each correct response and was used as the index of performance. Event-related brain potentials (ERP) to each of the three digits of the correctly answered triads were analyzed. The ERPs showed a distinct CNV potential for the second digit only (expectancy) and a P300 response for the third digit only (response decision). The mean EEG power spectrum was computed for each 5-min resting period, set before each trial and at the end of the session. A single administration of 4-mg nicotine chewing gum was followed by heart rate increase, acrodermal vasoconstriction, increase in theta and alpha frequency, decrease in delta power, and increase in the CNV magnitude. However, the chewing gum neither increased performance or reaction time nor decreased any ERP latencies or amplitudes, as has been reported after cigarette smoking.