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Updated: Sep 28, 2025

A Method for Evaluating the Reinforcing Properties of Ethanol in Rats without Water Deprivation, Saccharin Fading or Extended Access Training
Published on: January 29, 2017
The incentive amplifying effects of nicotine: Roles in alcohol seeking and consumption
Christopher P King1, Paul J Meyer2
1Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States; Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, United States.
Abstract:
Nicotine has a unique profile among drugs of abuse. To the noninitiated user, nicotine has powerful aversive effects and its relatively weak euphorigenic effects undergo rapid tolerance. Despite this, nicotine is commonly abused despite negative heath consequences, and nicotine users have enormous difficulty quitting. Further, nicotine is one of the most commonly co-abused substances, in that it is often taken in combination with other drugs. One explanation of this polydrug use is that nicotine has multiple appetitive and consummatory conditioning effects. For example, nicotine is a reinforcement enhancer in that it can potently increase the incentive value of other stimuli, including those surrounding drugs of abuse such as alcohol. In addition, nicotine also has a unique profile of neurobiological effects that alter regulation of alcohol intake and interoception. This review discusses the psychological and biological mechanisms surrounding nicotine's appetitive conditioning and consummatory effects, particularly its interactions with alcohol.
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