Alcohol Drugs and Behavior Lecture - November 5th, 2003


Stimulants continued.....

Nicotine
Treatment for niccotine addiction?

There are some fairly good forms of therapies...
The patch the gum, etc...

Tyler's likeness (the young fellow) was displayed in full splendor

The patch... through the skin and it has a constant absorbtion rate.

The gum... through the mouth and has same absorbtion style as actual 
cigarettes.


The inhaling device (resembles small cigarettes) This device
mirrors smoking in almost everyway (except the obvious)----actual smoke

These devices can be abused. (as can anything)

The more tobacco is taxed the fewer people will use the drug.

TN has one of the lowest taxes on tobacco usage in the country.

North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee are the only three states that make
money on tobacco.

Its a huge cash crop. 

Does nicotine have any good things that come with its usage?
In terms of society = NO
scientifically? = Yes stress reduction, increased concentration.

There is evidence to support the concentration theory...

% Error
I					First line animals with nicotine
I--------				Second line control animals
I   \	 \
I    \    \
I     \    -\
I      \     \____________
I 	\_________
I_______________________________
            Time



Hippocampus

Medial Septum middle area of the brain... if you legion this area
you produce RAGE in the animal. (This septum projects to the hippocampus
via a neural track called the Fembria Fornix)

When you work with rage animals you use thick leather gloves or chain gloves
(like armor.)

The medial septum has two neuron types= GABA and Acetyl Colene
both of which project to the hippocampus.

The AcetylColene receptors are sensitive to nicotine.

Hippocampul regular activity is recorded as Theta Waves 6 - 8Hz
Rythmic Neural activity is this wave.

The strength of this wave predicts learning... If strong the animal
learns really well. If the wave is very weak then the animal learns
poorly.

Medial septum controls the Theta frequency in the hippocampus.
When acetyl colene neurons are really active the theta wave is stronger.

When Niccotine is administered to an aniaml the Acetyl Colene neurons
are activated which in turn causes the Theta wave to be increased....
thus better learning.

So all that to say that there are some potentially good things that have
to do with nicotine.

This only works with certain types of learning.... anything non hippocampul
based.

Hippocampus is responsible for more of the fact retention type memory.

Non Hippocampul learning would be....
I.E. Procedural Learning.



Four arm radial maze

		
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		I

A basic study would be to food deprive the animal and let it know that
there is food on the maze. Say its on the east arm...

There would be three trials all of which would start either South
North or West. (this would allow the animal to learn the right direction
of which to go for the food.)

You can do many variations on this study...
Make it to where there is a certain marker for the food corridor.

You could then turn the maze which would disassociate the place information
from the marker information. 

Another test...
Group A = saline
Group B = alcohol
Group C = nicotine

These animals were all trained the same without drugs.
They are just being tested on different drugs.

With the control animals about 85% will go towards the PLACE not the CUE
the other 15% will use the CUE.

With the alcohol animals they are administered until drunk. 90% choose the
CUE. This is becuase their spatial info and memory is so impaired that
they can't use it - they must use the CUE.

The nicotine group they go with PLACE 100% of the time. Thats becuase
it really drives the hippocampul memory.