EFFECTS OF NICOTINE ON HUMAN PSYCHOMOTOR PERFORMANCE

A comprehensive review was conducted to establish whether there were any grounds to the claim that nicotine can enhance human psychomotor performance. Among relevant studies, many failed to distinguish between absolute improvements due to the administration of nicotine (usually in the form of cigarettes) and the relief of the effects of nicotine abstinence among the preferred subject pool of tobacco smokers. However, a few investigations have avoided this anomaly by examining the effects of nicotine in minimally-abstinent smokers or non-smokers. The results of these studies suggest that nicotine has small, specific, positive effects on the central nervous system which may facilitate human attention, memory and sensori-motor function.