The effect of nicotine and total alkaloids extracted from cigarette smoke on avoidance behavior in rats under extinction procedure

The effect of nicotine and total alkaloids extracted from smoke on the avoidance behavior of rats under extinction procedure has been measured in an experiment extended over a period of three months. There was no significant difference between the two substances, with both inhibiting the extinction of avoidance response to approximately the same degree. Significance against the control was achieved with all treatments, the effect being significantly greater with the dose of 0.2 mg/kg than with the two doses of 0.1 or 0.05 mg/kg.This study was made possible through the help of a research grant from the Swiss Association of Cigarette Manufacturers.