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SENSITIZATION AND TOLERANCE WITH EPISODIC (WEEKLY) NICOTINE ON MOTOR ACTIVITY IN RATS.
Citation:
MACPHAIL, R. C., J. D. FARMER, AND K. JAREMA. SENSITIZATION AND TOLERANCE WITH EPISODIC (WEEKLY) NICOTINE ON MOTOR ACTIVITY IN RATS. . NEUROTOXICOLOGY AND TERATOLOGY. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 29:341-347, (2007).
Impact/Purpose:
To determine whether episodic xposures to nicotine produce long-lasting changes in the motor activity of laboratory rats
Description:
These studies grew out of an unexpected finding from investigations of the neurobehavioral toxicity of PCBs. This paper shows that episodic, or recurring intermittent acute exposures to nicotine produce dramatic and long-lasting changes in the motor activity of laboratory rats. These results highlight the importance of a novel exposure scenario (episodic) that has both environmental realism and is beginning to be recognized as important in assessing the risks of environmental contaminants. While the exact mechanism(s) responsible for these effects are not known at this time, these results indicate the need to undertake similar studies with environmentally relevant chemicals that may also act on nicotinic cholinergic receptors in the nervous system. Such studies are underway with the cyanotoxin anatoxin-a.