Cognitive effects of nicotine in humans: an fMRI study

To elucidate the neural correlates of cognitive effects of nicotine, we examined behavioral performance and blood oxygenation level-dependent regional brain activity, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, during a parametric “n-back” task in healthy nonsmoking males after the administration o...

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Published in:NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Fla.), 2003-07, Vol.19 (3), p.1002-1013
Main Authors: Kumari, Veena, Gray, Jeffrey A, ffytche, Dominic H, Mitterschiffthaler, Martina T, Das, Mrigen, Zachariah, Elizabeth, Vythelingum, Goparlen N, Williams, Steven C.R, Simmons, Andrew, Sharma, Tonmoy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Algorithms
Analysis of Variance
Animal cognition
Anterior cingulate
Attention
Brain
Brain - physiology
Cerebellum
Cognitive effects
Female
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted - statistics & numerical data
Imagination - physiology
Ligands
Magnetic Resonance Imaging - statistics & numerical data
Male
Medical screening
Memory
Memory - physiology
Neural network
Neural networks
Nicotine
Older people
Oxygen - blood
Parahippocampal gyrus
Rodents
Smoking
Studies
Working memory
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Summary:To elucidate the neural correlates of cognitive effects of nicotine, we examined behavioral performance and blood oxygenation level-dependent regional brain activity, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, during a parametric “n-back” task in healthy nonsmoking males after the administration of nicotine (12 μg/kg body weight) or saline. Nicotine, compared to placebo, improved accuracy ( P = 0.008) in all active conditions (2%–11%), and had a load-specific effect on latency ( P = 0.004; 43.78% decrease at the highest memory load). Within a network of parietal and frontal areas activated by the task ( P < 0.05, corrected at the voxel level), nicotine produced an increased response ( P < 0.05; uncorrected within the regions of interest) in the anterior cingulate, superior frontal cortex, and superior parietal cortex. It also produced an increased response in the midbrain tectum in all active conditions and in the parahippocampal gyrus, cerebellum, and medial occipital lobe during rest ( P = 0.05; uncorrected). The present observations point to altered neuronal activity in a distributed neural network associated with on-line task monitoring and attention and arousal systems as underlying nicotine-related enhancement of attention and working memory in human subjects.
ISSN:1053-8119
1095-9572
DOI:10.1016/S1053-8119(03)00110-1