Does Nicotine Vaping Enhance the Value of Environmental Rewards in a Preclinical Rat Model?

Millions of youth in the United States use electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS; ‘vape’), despite harmful health-related effects. Nicotine is a multifaceted reward that motivates the use of and addiction to electronic cigarettes through an interaction of primary and secondary reinforcement, as well as enhancement of the value of nonpharmacological environmental stimuli. For example, nicotine consumption increases behavior maintained by sensory stimuli, such as music and videos, in humans. The reward-enhancing effect of nicotine may be particularly important in the maintenance and relapse to ENDS use. However, a critical gap in the literature is whether environmental stimuli are enhanced by nicotine aerosol delivery. Thus, the present study aims, for the first time, to investigate how nicotine potentiates non-drug rewards by using a preclinical model of nicotine aerosol self-administration (the Rodent Electronic Nicotine Delivery System). Specifically, we will compare nosepoking for visual stimuli in a group of female rats that self-administered nicotine aerosol relative to a control, nicotine-naïve group. We expect to find that nosepoking for visual stimuli will be enhanced in the nicotine group, demonstrating that the value of nonpharmacological stimuli is potentiated. The projected findings of this study may have important implications for cessation of electronic cigarette use and relapse mitigation.