Effects of nicotine on the visual evoked response

The effects of smoking cigarettes differing in nicotine content (0.14 vs 1.34 mg/cigarette) on the peak-to-peak amplitude and peak latency of the human averaged visual evoked response (AVER) were measured in 10 male smokers after a 2-hr smoking deprivation period. The AVER was obtained under five different flash intensities. Eight different peaks were involved in the amplitude and latency measurements. The nicotine dosage and flash intensity factors both had significant effects on peak-to-peak amplitudes while only the flash intensity factor affected peak latencies. The general enhancement of peak-to-peak amplitudes by the 1.34 mg cigarette, relative to the 0.14 mg cigarette, indicates that the effects of cigarette smoking on the AVER are predominantly due to nicotine's psychopharmacologic action, as opposed to other elements in tobacco smoke or as opposed to nonpharmacologic mechanisms involving learning processes. Past research, on an electrophysiological and behavioral level, indicating that nicotine, as administered via cigarette smoking, may have enhancing and/or restorative effects on visual attentional processes in the quiescent smoker was supported.