ABSTRACT
Brain nicotine receptors have been mapped by autoradiographic techniques with the most commonly used radioligands being nicotine and acetylcholine. This chapter focuses on the interactions with the cholinergic system for two reasons. First, there is evidence for the concordance of the binding sites of nicotine and acetylcholine. Second, there is independent evidence for a relationship between some cholinergic systems of the brain and information processing. Human information processing models emphasize the active nature of the memory processes, and thus have tended to focus on the encoding processes and their impact on the way information is stored, with less attention given to the period after the material has been encoded and is being held in storage for subsequent retrieval. More importantly, postlearning administration of nicotine to rats appeared to promote consolidation of memory traces. The chapter proposes a mechanism for the action of nicotine on a consolidation process.
