Brain area nicotine levels in male and female rats with different levels of spontaneous activity

The present investigation was designed to study brain area nicotine distribution in an attempt to determine why, in previous research, rats of different activity levels were differentially affected by this drug, at least insofar as it's effects on behavior and 5-hydroxytryptamine turnover were concerned. Brain area nicotine levels were evaluated in male and female rats grouped according to different levels of activity; drug levels were studied 15 and 30 min following the s.c. administration of 400 μg kg of nicotine. The results obtained indicated that there were few significant differences between experimental groups, but whether high or low active rats were analyzed, brain area nicotine levels were higher in the female rat. However, these differences also appeared to be related to other factors such as whether each rat received single or 5 nicotine doses, or the time studied after nicotine administration.