Developmental effects of nicotine on cognitive, motivated, and executive behaviors

Abstract

Abstract Whether a pregnant woman smokes combustible cigarettes, inhales nicotine-laden vapor via electronic cigarettes, or uses nicotine replacement therapies such as nicotine-infused gum or skin patches, her developing fetus is exposed to nicotine. Early-life exposure to nicotine has been associated with a plethora of negative behavioral outcomes including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and maladaptive motivated behaviors, suggestive of alterations in development of neural structures involved in mediating control of those behaviors. Consistent with this, functional imaging studies in humans have shown differences in several brain regions. Further, these differences appear to exhibit sex selectivity. Although discrepancies likely due to differences in the animal models used exist in the literature, research using animal models of prenatal nicotine exposure also shows similar behavioral and structural changes with sex-driven effects. When taken together, studies indicate that the most prudent advice to give a pregnant woman is to abstain from use of any form of nicotine-containing products in order to avoid nicotine’s teratogenic effect on neural development of her offspring.