Abstract
Acute nicotine enhances multiple types of learning including trace fear conditioning but the underlying neural substrates of these effects are not well understood. Trace fear conditioning critically involves the medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, which both express nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). Therefore, nicotine could act in either or both areas to enhance trace fear conditioning. To identify the underlying neural areas and nAChR subtypes, we examined the effects of infusion of nicotine, or nicotinic antagonists dihydro-beta-erythroidine (DHβE: high-affinity nAChRs) or methyllycaconitine (MLA: low-affinity nAChRs) into the dorsal hippocampus, ventral hippocampus, and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) on trace and contextual fear conditioning. We found that the effects of nicotine on trace and contextual fear conditioning vary by brain region and nAChR subtype. The dorsal hippocampus was involved in the effects of nicotine on both trace and contextual fear conditioning but each task was sensitive to different doses of nicotine. Additionally, dorsal hippocampal infusion of the antagonist DHβE produced deficits in trace but not contextual fear conditioning. Nicotine infusion into the ventral hippocampus produced deficits in both trace and contextual fear conditioning. In the mPFC, nicotine enhanced trace but not contextual fear conditioning. Interestingly, infusion of the antagonists MLA or DHβE in the mPFC also enhanced trace fear conditioning. These findings suggest that nicotine acts on different substrates to enhance trace versus contextual fear conditioning, and that nicotine-induced desensitization of nAChRs in the mPFC may contribute to the effects of nicotine on trace fear conditioning.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 353-363 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Neurobiology of Learning and Memory |
Volume | 94 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2010 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors would like to acknowledge grant support from National Institute of Health (DA017949 TG, DA024787 TG, P50 CA143187: Caryn Lerman Ph.D). Additionally, JDR was supported by a NIH/NIDA training Grant (T32DA07237) and is currently supported by (T32DA007262). Additionally the authors thank Kristy Cordero for assistance with histological analysis.
Keywords
- Acetylcholine
- Addiction
- Hippocampus
- Learning
- Nicotine
- Working memory