Effect of Nicotine on Brain Activation during Performance of a Working Memory Task

Nicotine influences cognition and behavior, but the mechanisms by which these effects occur are unclear. By using positron emission tomography, we measured cognitive activation (increases in relative regional cerebral blood flow) during a working memory task [2-back task (2BT)] in 11 abstinent smoke...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2001-04, Vol.98 (8), p.4728-4733
Main Authors: Ernst, Monique, Matochik, John A., Heishman, Stephen J., Van Horn, John D., Jons, Peter H., Henningfield, Jack E., London, Edythe D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological Sciences
Brain
Brain - blood supply
Brain - diagnostic imaging
Brain - drug effects
Brain - physiology
Cerebral hemispheres
Cigarette smoking
Cognition
Cognition & reasoning
Female
Humans
Male
Memory
Memory - drug effects
Middle Aged
Neurology
Nicotine
Nicotine - pharmacology
Nicotine dependence
Pharmacology
Placebos
Positron emission tomography
Side effects
Smoking cessation
Tobacco smoking
Tomography
Tomography, Emission-Computed
Working memory
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Summary:Nicotine influences cognition and behavior, but the mechanisms by which these effects occur are unclear. By using positron emission tomography, we measured cognitive activation (increases in relative regional cerebral blood flow) during a working memory task [2-back task (2BT)] in 11 abstinent smokers and 11 ex-smokers. Assays were performed both after administration of placebo gum and 4-mg nicotine gum. Performance on the 2BT did not differ between groups in either condition, and the pattern of brain activation by the 2BT was consistent with reports in the literature. However, in the placebo condition, activation in ex-smokers predominated in the left hemisphere, whereas in smokers, it occurred in the right hemisphere. When nicotine was administered, activation was reduced in smokers but enhanced in ex-smokers. The lateralization of activation as a function of nicotine dependence suggests that chronic exposure to nicotine or withdrawal from nicotine affects cognitive strategies used to perform the memory task. Furthermore, the lack of enhancement of activation after nicotine administration in smokers likely reflects tolerance.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.061369098