Adolescent and adult female rats differ in sensitivity to nicotine's activity effects

More than 90% of cigarette smokers begin smoking during adolescence. This between-subjects repeated-measures experiment examined: (1) nicotine's acute effects on activity in adolescent and adult female Sprague-Dawley rats (Drug Phase I); (2) the effects of age of initial nicotine exposure on activity when nicotine was not administered (Interim Phase); and (3) the effects of age of initial nicotine exposure on later responses to nicotine (Drug Phase II). The experiment consisted of three separate phases. In Drug Phase I, animals were administered either 0 (saline), 0.01, 0.10, 0.50, or 1.0 mg/kg nicotine via subcutaneous injections for 12 days and horizontal activity was measured daily. During the Interim Phase (no drug phase), activity was measured but nicotine was not administered. During Drug Phase II, the same animals were administered the same nicotine dosages as in Drug Phase I for 12 days and activity was measured daily. Drug Phase I revealed dose-response differences between adolescent and adult female rats. In addition, animals initially exposed to nicotine in adolescence exhibited greater sensitivity to nicotine's activity-increasing effects than did females initially exposed to nicotine in adulthood (i.e., Drug Phase II).