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Diurnal variation of nicotine‐induced ACTH and cortisol secretion in non‐smoking healthy male volunteers
Author(s) -
Thakore Jogin H.,
Berti Carlo,
Dinan Timothy G.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1077(199904)14:3<179::aid-hup82>3.0.co;2-u
Subject(s) - nicotine , placebo , post hoc analysis , analysis of variance , post hoc , endocrinology , medicine , nasal administration , psychology , pharmacology , alternative medicine , pathology
Most investigators have used either cigarette smoking or intravenous nicotine in order to try and study the effects of nicotine exposure on the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis in man. Our two aims in this study were, firstly, to try and determine the effects of intra‐nasal nicotine on the HPA axis and, secondly, to see whether these effects were time‐dependent. Six male non‐smoking subjects were given either placebo or 1·0 mg of intranasal nicotine at 0900 h and at 1700 h. A one way analysis of variance and post hoc tests revealed significantly greater nicotine versus placebo‐induced δ cortisol values at 1700 h and at 0900 h ( F =4·004, df =3, p <0·02). A one way analysis of variance and post hoc tests revealed that nicotine versus placebo‐induced δ ACTH values were significantly greater at both the 0900 h ( p <0·05) and 1700 h test sessions ( p <0·05); furthermore, nicotine‐induced δ ACTH values were significantly higher at 1700 h than at 0900 h ( p <0·05) ( F =199·04, df =3, p <0·0002). We have found that intra‐nasal nicotine is capable of stimulating the HPA axis and, furthermore, this activation is time dependent. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.