Previous experiments have shown that chronic subcutaneous administration of nicotine dose-dependently inhibits the acquisition and retention of a spatial task in the Morris water maze and reduces cell genesis in the dentate gyrus (DG) of adult rats.1 In the present study, the effects of nicotine and buproprion, an atypical antidepressant used in smoking cessation, on dentate gyrus cell genesis and DNA fragmentation were investigated. The results show that nicotine, chronically infused for 21 days, suppressed cell genesis and enhanced DNA fragmentation in the DG, an effect not attenuated by co-administration of buproprion.peer-reviewe
