Nicotine and alcohol are often used together, although the under basic causes are unclear. One implication is that nicotine enhances the pleasurable effects of alcohol while decreasing the unpleasant effects. Now, a new study offered a different explanation to this theory. It is said that nicotine wipes out the sleepiness brought on by alcohol.
It is believed that at least 85% of adults in the United States who are alcohol-dependent are also dependent on nicotine. The researchers from the University of Missouri (MU) School of Medicine in Columbia reported their findings in the Journal of Neurochemistry. They hope their study will pave the way to the progression in the health not only of heavy drinkers and smokers, but also to those people with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, which often was proven to be associated with smoking.
Mahesh Thakkar, the lead author of the study, who is also an associate professor and director of research in the MU School of Medicine's Department of Neurology stated that when nicotine stimulates an area of the brain called the basal forebrain, it responds by weakening the sleep-inducing effects of alcohol. Nicotine acts via the forebrain to subdue alcoholic sleepiness.
The researchers in the new study fit four groups of rats with sleep-recording equipment. Each group was then managed with one of four combinations: alcohol and nicotine, alcohol and no nicotine (placebo dose used), water and nicotine, or water and no nicotine. The nicotine dose was injected into the forebrain; then alcohol or water was introduced into the stomach.
The results revealed that rats which were exposed to alcohol displayed strong sleep promotion, those exposed to nicotine showed less alcohol-induced sleepiness. The researchers explained the findings through its effect on the forebrain; nicotine suppresses the sleep-inducing effects of alcohol.
According to Prof. Thakkar, one of the negative effects of drinking alcohol is sleepiness. When used simultaneously with nicotine, however, the latter acts as a stimulant to wipe off sleep. If an individual smokes, then he or she is much more likely to ingest more alcohol, and vice-versa. They are fueled by each otther.
