Effects of a Chronic Nicotine Infusion on the Local Cerebral Glucose Utilization

Summary

Local cerebral glucose utilization was measured as an indicator of local brain function in 45 brain regions in conscious rats using the quantitative 2-deoxy-(¹⁴C)-glucose method. L-nicotine was infused by osmotic minipumps for 14 days resulting in a plasma nicotine concentration of 77 ng/ml plasma. Local cerebral glucose utilization was significantly increased in 6 brain structures. 4 of these structures had already revealed increased glucose utilization in previous experiments perfomed during acute nicotine infusion; the 2 other structures were activated during chronic infusion only. It is concluded that chronic nicotine infusion has distinct effects on the functional activity of several brain structures which are partly congruent with those affected during acute nicotine infusion and partly divergent from them.