Genetics news | Genetics news

However, in the current study, researchers showed that the P rats' affinity for nicotine could be demonstrated before the animals were ever exposed to alcohol.

P rats were also found to be more vulnerable to nicotine relapse than NP rats.

Researchers withheld nicotine from the rats until their lever pressing occurred infrequently.

Then, both P and NP rats were given a single nicotine injection.

P rats, but not NP rats, resumed pressing the lever previously associated with nicotine infusions.

The researchers also showed that the P rats' apparent genetic vulnerability to alcohol and nicotine does not appear to extend to other drugs of abuse.

When P and NP rats learned to press a lever to receive cocaine, each group took about the same amount of that drug.

The authors note that the lack of a difference in cocaine self-administration indicates that the difference between P and NP rats in nicotine self-administration is not due to a general "reward deficit" in NP rats.

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