On the interaction between nicotine and cycloheximide.

This study examined whether the nicotine-induced reversal of the amnestic effect of cycloheximide is due to an interaction between nicotine and cycloheximide on brain protein synthesis, and whether it involves the sites in brain that saturably bind [3H]nicotine. Nicotine did not reverse the cycloheximide-induced inhibition of protein synthesis, both in in vivo (intact animal) and in vitro (brain slice), suggesting that on-going protein synthesis is not necessarily involved in memory consolidation. The nicotine binding sites were not affected by in vivo or in vitro treatment with cycloheximide in the presence or absence of nicotine.