Conditioned tolerance to the anorectic and corticosterone-elevating effects of nicotine

Abstract

We have shown that tolerance to the behavioral effects of nicotine is partially dependent on conditioned environmental cues that predict drug delivery. The present research extends this finding to physiological effects of nicotine by assessing both the appetite-suppressing and adrenocortical-activating effects of nicotine, as measured by plasma corticosterone (CORT). In the first study, male rats on a 22-h food deprivation schedule were injected daily with 0.33 or 0.66 mg/kg (free base) of nicotine bitartrate or saline in a distinctive environment and tested for milk intake. Nicotine initially suppressed milk intake and tolerance developed over 10 days. Changing cues associated with drug administration partially reversed tolerance since injection of nicotine in a new environment reduced milk intake of tolerant animals. Similarly, animals who repeatedly received nicotine in one environment exhibited CORT levels lower than rats injected for the first time, and this tolerance also was partially reversed when administration occurred in the new environment. The second experiment indicated that the increased CORT of Experiment 1 was not a stress response associated with injecting animals in a different environment. These results indicate that tolerance to both behavioral and neuroendocrine effects of nicotine is influenced by conditioning.