Sex Differences to Effects of Nicotine on Responses Maintained by Environmental S

描述（由申请人提供）：越来越明显的是，非尼古丁刺激（即嗅觉、味觉）在女性吸烟维持和复发方面的作用比男性更大。这些刺激可能因为与尼古丁的关联而成为条件强化物，而尼古丁对条件强化物反应的直接药理作用尚不清楚。此外，雌性大鼠很少被纳入尼古丁对各种环境后果维持的反应影响的实验室研究中，因此研究尼古丁对行为影响的性别差异将做出有价值的贡献。两个实验将使用观察反应程序来检查急性和慢性尼古丁暴露对初级强化物和条件强化物维持的反应的影响，以及检查雄性和雌性Long-Evans大鼠一般运动活动的变化。实验1将视觉刺激与食物可得性配对，为了扩展这一效应的普遍性，实验2将听觉刺激与食物可得性配对。如果尼古丁在雌性大鼠中比在雄性大鼠中更大程度地增加了对条件强化物的反应，这将为非尼古丁刺激对吸烟维持和复发的重要性的性别差异提供有用的信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): It is becoming increasingly apparent that non-nicotine stimuli (i.e., smell, taste) play a larger role in smoking maintenance and relapse for women than men. These stimuli may become conditioned reinforcers because of their association with nicotine, and the direct pharmacological effects of nicotine on responding for conditioned reinforcers is poorly understood. Furthermore, female rats are rarely included in laboratory studies of the effects of nicotine on responding maintained by various environmental consequences, therefore studying sex differences to the behavioral effects of nicotine will make a valuable contribution. Two experiments will use the observing response procedure to examine effects of acute and chronic nicotine exposure on responding maintained by primary and conditioned reinforcers, as well as examining changes in general locomotor activity, in male and female Long-Evans rats. Experiment 1 will pair a visual stimulus with food availability, and to extend the generality of this effect Experiment 2 will pair an auditory stimulus with food availability. If nicotine increases responding for conditioned reinforcers to a greater extent in female rats than in male rats, this will provide useful information regarding the gender disparity in the importance of non-nicotine stimuli to smoking maintenance and relapse.