Hyperactivity, increased nicotine consumption and impaired performance in the five-choice serial reaction time task in adolescent rats prenatally exposed to nicotine

• Published in: Psychopharmacologia 2012-10, Vol.223 (4), p.401-415
• Main Authors: Schneider, T., Bizarro, L., Asherson, P. J. E., Stolerman, I. P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescence; Animals; Anxiety; Anxiety - etiology; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Aversion; Behavior disorders; Behavior, Animal - drug effects; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Choice Behavior - drug effects; Cognition - drug effects; Cognitive ability; Drug abuse; Female; Food availability; Hyperactivity; Impulsive Behavior - chemically induced; Locomotor activity; Male; Maze Learning - drug effects; Medical sciences; Mental disorders; Miscellaneous; Motor Activity - drug effects; Neurosciences; Nicotine; Nicotine - administration & dosage; Nicotine - adverse effects; Nicotinic Agonists - administration & dosage; Nicotinic Agonists - adverse effects; Original Investigation; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Pregnancy; Prenatal development; Prenatal experience; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; Progeny; Psychiatry; Psychomotor Performance - drug effects; Psychopharmacology; Rats; Reaction Time - drug effects; Reaction time task; Rodents; Self Administration; Time Factors
• ISSN: 0033-3158; 1432-2072
• DOI: 10.1007/s00213-012-2728-7

Rationale Prenatal exposure to nicotine has been linked to accelerated risk for different psychiatric disorders, including conduct disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and drug abuse. We examine a potential link between prenatal nicotine exposure, hyperactivity, anxiety, nicotine consumption, and cognitive performance in rats. Methods Adolescent offspring of females exposed during pregnancy to 0.06 mg/ml nicotine solution as the only source of water and of a group of pair-fed females, used as a control for anorexic effects of nicotine, were evaluated in a battery of tests, including locomotor activity, the elevated plus maze, two-bottle free-choice nicotine solution consumption, the five-choice serial reaction time test (5-CSRTT) and a delay-discounting test. All tests were conducted between postnatal day (PND) 25 and PND 50. Results Nicotine-exposed animals expressed hyperactivity, increased number of open arms entries in the elevated plus maze and increased numbers of anticipatory responses in the 5-CSRTT. Decreased aversion for nicotine solution in the free-choice test and decreased numbers of omission errors in the 5-CSRTT were observed both in nicotine-exposed and pair-fed offspring. Neither nicotine exposure nor pair-feeding had an effect on impulsive choice in a delay-discounting test. Conclusions Our study confirms deleterious effects of prenatal nicotine exposure on important aspects of behaviour and inhibitory control in adolescent rats and supports epidemiological findings that show increased levels of symptoms of ADHD and related disorders among those whose mothers smoked during their pregnancy. It also suggests a link between food restriction during pregnancy and addiction-related behaviours in offspring.