ABSTRACT
The need continues for new effective medication therapies for the treatment of nicotine addiction. Animal models of nicotine addiction represent an important tool in the discovery of such new therapies. Animal models of nicotine-mediated reward, locomotor activity, dependence, and withdrawal will increase our knowledge of the biological basis of nicotine addiction, identify novel therapeutic targets, and validate the effectiveness of new pharmacological therapies. Understanding the possibilities and liabilities of existing animal models of nicotine addiction is critical to interpreting the data and conclusions of preclinical researchers. In this chapter, we review a number of behavioral paradigms that are thought to measure elements of nicotine
addiction in animals. We then examine their face validity as models for various aspects of human smoking and discuss their potential for use in the development of novel smoking cessation pharmacotherapies.
