Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA.
Alcohol. 2010 Feb;44(1):81-7. doi: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2009.10.013.
Animal and human studies have shown tolerance, consumption, relapse, and behavioral interactions between ethanol and nicotine, but little is understood about their interaction, especially as it relates to ethanol withdrawal in adulthood for subjects who have an adolescent history of using these drugs. This study investigated nicotine's influence on ethanol withdrawal seizures in two different age groups of male C3H mice. Adolescent and adult male C3H mice, beginning at postnatal day 28 or 70, respectively, were subjected to a 7-day chronic exposure to ethanol only, ethanol plus nicotine, nicotine only, or vehicle treatment. Six weeks later, all the groups were subjected to chronic exposure to ethanol vapors and the severity of their ethanol withdrawal seizures was assessed by handling-induced convulsions. An adolescent exposure to chronic nicotine resulted in an exacerbation of ethanol withdrawal seizures in adulthood. Given this, adolescence may contain a neurophysiological critical period that is sensitive to nicotine and which may result in an altered response to ethanol dependency in adulthood. These findings have serious implications for the long-term consequences following co-abuse of these drugs during adolescence.
动物和人体研究表明，乙醇和尼古丁之间存在耐受性、摄入、复发和行为相互作用，但对它们的相互作用知之甚少，特别是对于有青少年时期使用这些药物史的成年人在戒断乙醇时的相互作用。本研究调查了尼古丁对两种不同年龄组雄性 C3H 小鼠乙醇戒断性抽搐的影响。分别从出生后第 28 天或第 70 天开始，青少年和成年雄性 C3H 小鼠接受为期 7 天的慢性乙醇暴露，或同时给予乙醇和尼古丁、尼古丁或载体处理。6 周后，所有组均接受慢性乙醇蒸气暴露，并通过处理诱导的惊厥评估其乙醇戒断性抽搐的严重程度。青少年时期接触慢性尼古丁会加剧成年期的乙醇戒断性抽搐。鉴于此，青春期可能包含一个对尼古丁敏感的神经生理关键期，这可能导致成年期对乙醇依赖的反应改变。这些发现对青少年时期同时滥用这些药物后的长期后果具有重要意义。
