NICOTINE PLACE PREFERENCE USING THE BIASED METHOD OF CONDITIONING

1. The objective of the experimentation was to determine whether nicotine (NIC, 0.8 mg/kg subcutaneously administered) would produce a conditioned place preference (CPP) in rats confined for thirty min to their less-preferred side in a three compartment apparatus, or an aversion when another group of rats were confined to their more preferred side. 2. On the non-drugged test day following eight conditioning trials, the rats spent more time in the compartment paired with NIC that was initially less-preferred, whereas animals that were conditioned with NIC in their preferred compartment had no significant change in time spent in that side. 3. Subsequently, locomotor activity was measured during a 30 min test session following the injection of NIC at the dose tested in CPP (0.8 mg/kg). A possible common mechanism on NIC-induced CPP and locomotor stimulation, as they may be regulated by mesolimbic dopamine neurons is discussed.