Lasting synaptic changes underlie attention deficits caused by nicotine exposure during adolescence

Danielle S Counotte (1) , Natalia A Goriounova (1) , Ka Wan Li (1) , Maarten Loos (1) , Roel C van Der Schors (1) , Dustin Schetters (1) , Anton Nm Schoffelmeer (1) , August B Smit (1) , Huibert Mansvelder (1) , Tommy Pattij (1) , Sabine Spijker (1)

1 Molecular & Cellular Neurobiology

Tobacco smoking and nicotine exposure during adolescence interfere with prefrontal cortex (PFC) development and lead to cognitive impairments in later life. The molecular and cellular underpinning of these consequences remains elusive. We find that adolescent nicotine exposure induces lasting attentional disturbances and reduces mGluR2 protein and function on presynaptic terminals of PFC glutamatergic synapses. Restoring mGluR2 activity in vivo by local infusion of a group II mGluR agonist in adult rats that received adolescent nicotine rescued attentional disturbances.

Mots clés: metabotropic receptor; Plasticity; Addiction; Development; Cognition; adolescence

Danielle S Counotte, Natalia A Goriounova, Ka Wan Li, Maarten Loos, Roel C van Der Schors, et al.. Lasting synaptic changes underlie attention deficits caused by nicotine exposure during adolescence. Nature Neuroscience, 2011, ⟨10.1038/nn.2770⟩. ⟨hal-00616225⟩