Effects of nicotine administration via a sublingual tablet on arousal and verbal ability in non-smokers

Introduction
Nicotine is often reported by smokers to enhance cognitive performance, particularly attention and verbal ability.
Evidence in non-smokers, however, is mixed, with studies showing both cognitive enhancement and impairment.
This study examined the acute effects of nicotine delivered via a sublingual tablet on verbal performance and physiological arousal in healthy non-smokers.
Key Points
Study design: Double-blind, placebo-controlled laboratory study involving 72 healthy non-smokers aged 18–29.
Nicotine dose: Single 2 mg sublingual nicotine tablet, with testing conducted ~1 hour post-administration.
Physiological effects: Nicotine significantly increased heart rate, confirming increased cardiovascular arousal.
Verbal task performance:
Impaired accuracy in word-matching and anagram tasks following nicotine administration.
Longer reaction times in the anagram task under nicotine.
No significant effects on analogy-solving or verbal fluency tasks.
Sex differences: Some baseline sex differences in task performance were observed, but nicotine effects were independent of sex.
Side effects: Minimal and mild; only one participant reported dizziness, with no study withdrawals.
Conclusion
Acute nicotine administration via a sublingual tablet does not improve verbal ability in nicotine-naïve individuals.
Nicotine may impair certain aspects of verbal performance, particularly tasks requiring lexical knowledge and verbal flexibility.
These findings suggest that non-smokers are unlikely to gain cognitive benefits from occasional nicotine use or NRT products.

Dr David L. Neumann, Ashley C. Sturm, Gregory J. Boyle & John J. Furedy (2010) Effects of nicotine administration via a sublingual tablet on arousal and verbal ability in non-smokers, Australian Journal of Psychology, 62:2, 75-81, DOI: 10.1080/00049530902795458