The effects of maternal nicotine absorption or hypoxic episodes upon appetitive behavior of rat offspring

Abstract

Abstract Offspring of rats which had received either daily nicotine injections or hypoxic episodes throughout gestation were tested at adulthood on various appetitive schedules in a double‐bar Foringer chamber. The hypoxic offspring and the offspring whose mothers had received nicotine throughout gestation and the nursing period performed more poorly on fixed‐ratio, variable interval discrimination, and discrimination reversal schedules. Possible explanatory hypotheses are discussed.