Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons^™

The Effects Of Acute Nicotine Administration On Memory Formation And Neural Activity In The Hippocampus, Perirhinal Cortex, And Medial Septum: Implications For Neurodegenerative Disorders, Matthew Wishnoff

Behavioral Neuroscience Honors Papers

Within the general public, nicotine is commonly thought of as a harmful molecule due to its role in tobacco addiction. However, nicotinic stimulation of the cholinergic system has also been shown to enhance cognitive functioning. This enhancement is thought to be caused by an increase in the release of the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine (ACh), which is responsible for mediating a variety of cognitive processes, such as REM sleep and memory formation. Recent research by Melichercik and colleagues shows that systemic nicotine administration enhances memory acquisition for both object location and object recognition memory in rats, as assessed by a modified version …