Effect of nicotine on passive avoidance behaviour and motoric activity in mice

In this study the effect of different doses of nicotine (0.125; 0.250; 0.500 mg/kg) on motoric activity in mice was tested by a T-maze model both during dark and light phase of the diurnal cycle. Low doses of nicotine (0.125 mg/kg; 0.250 mg/kg) increased motoric activity during the day. During the dark phase no stimulation was seen. A higher dose of nicotine (0.500 mg/kg) decreased motoric activity both during dark and light phase of the diurnal cycle. A positive effect on retention time in a passive avoidance model was observed when mice were pretreated with 0.125 mg/kg nicotine. No significant effect was observed with 0.500 mg/kg nicotine. Thus, a low dose of nicotine which increases motoric activity also seem to have a positive effect on learning/memory mechanisms studied by a passive avoidance behaviour model.