Summary
Nicotine, acting at fetal CNS nicotinic cholinergic receptors, produces neurobehavioral teratogenesis. By contrasting acute nicotine injections to pregnant rats with continuous infusions (implanted minipumps), we have been able to separate the contributing variables of hypoxia/ischemia, maternal nutrition and fetal growth retardation from the direct effects of nicotine exerted on developing neurons. Nicotine mimics the natural actions of acetylcholine as a neurotrophic factor, but because exogenous drug administration elicits the trophic effect prematurely, neural cell replication is arrested at the incorrect time, leading to deficiencies in cell number and synaptic function.
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© 1995 Birkhäuser Verlag Basel
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Slotkin, T.A. (1995). Developmental Effects of Nicotine. In: Clarke, P.B.S., Quik, M., Adlkofer, F., Thurau, K. (eds) Effects of Nicotine on Biological Systems II. Advances in Pharmacological Sciences. Birkhäuser Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-7445-8_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-7445-8_14
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