Abstract

The acoustic startle response (ASR) with pre-pulse inhibition (PPI) is a valuable paradigm to study mechanisms underlying effects of sympathomimetic drugs (Davis et al., 1975; Kokkinidis & Anisman, 1978). PPI also has been proposed as a behavioral model to study information processing and sensory gating in conditions involving thought disturbances (Swerdlow, 1986). We have adopted this paradigm to study effects of nicotine on sensory gating and possibly on attentional processes in rats. We believe that this model provides a valuable complement to human and clinical studies investigating effects of nicotine in dementia patients. Results from a series of our recent experiments indicate that: (1) acute and chronic nicotine have an inverted U-shaped dose-effect on ASR and PPI; (2) effects of nicotine on ASR and PPI are altered in the presence of stress; and (3) effects of nicotine on ASR and PPI appear more pronounced in females than in males. This paper will summarize and integrate the findings from this line of research and will emphasize the value of this paradigm to study nicotine’s cognitive effects. In addition, specific uses of this model along with neuroscience and molecular-biological techniques will be discussed.

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