Enhancement of sexual behavior in the female rat by nicotine.

The effects of nicotine alone or in combination with mecamylamine, and the effects of both in combination with DA agonists and antagonists and d-LSD (5-HT agonist) have been studied on the sexual behaviour of castrate, estrogen-treated female rats. The results show that nicotine (as low as 50 mug/kg) significantly increases sexual receptivity. The pharmacological analysis suggests this effect to be mediated by a central, nicotine-like cholinergic receptor whose relationship to DA and 5-HT pathways known to exert inhibitory influences on receptivity in the female rat is also discussed.