Self-administered and yoked nicotine produce robust increases in blood pressure and changes in heart rate with modest effects of behavioral contingency in rats

Experimenter-administered nicotine produces reliable increases in blood pressure and changes in heart rate. However, an extensive literature demonstrates that the effects of psychoactive drugs are dependent on whether administration is contingent on behavior. The present study assessed the cardiovascular effects of nicotine and whether those effects vary as a function of whether nicotine was self-administered or response-independent. Rats were divided into three groups according to a yoked design. The pattern of infusions for each triad was determined by the animal self-administering nicotine; the other two animals received either yoked nicotine or saline. Heart rate and blood pressure were measured during eighteen daily, 1h drug sessions by radiotelemetry. Each session was preceded and followed by a 20 minute period during which cardiovascular function was monitored in the operant chambers, but drug was not available. Acute exposure to yoked nicotine produced a rapid rise in blood pressure that was larger than the increase observed with self-administered nicotine. Additional infusions during the first session resulted in a similar sustained elevation in blood pressure in the nicotine groups. Over subsequent sessions, self-administered nicotine produced a larger effect on systolic blood pressure particularly early in each session, although for both self-administered and yoked nicotine the hypertensive effects waned partially with repeated test sessions. This decrease was fully accounted for by a pre-session decrease in pressure; relative to pre-session levels the strong hypertensive effects of nicotine persisted. Initial exposure to nicotine produced a short-lived bradycardia that in subsequent sessions was replaced with a longer-lasting nicotine-induced tachycardia; neither effect was related to the behavioral contingency of nicotine delivery. Together, these data provide a rich picture of the cardiovascular effects of nicotine. Effects of behavioral contingency were observed, but differences were limited. Other non-pharmacological factors such as baseline shifts potentially related to nicotine-associated cues deserve further attention.