Sara Jo Nixon

"The literature on acute administration of nicotine in both animals and humans strongly suggests that nicotine is a cognitive enhancer," said researcher Sara Jo Nixon of the University of Florida."The cognitive benefit is often observed in studies where nonsmokers are administered nicotine.Furthermore, it appears that this effect is most effectively achieved through nicotine's effects on attention processes.

"However, when considering the potentially positive effects of nicotine, it is critical that we separate the effects of nicotine from those associated with smoking or other tobacco use."

Nixon said the study showed that "alcoholics who smoked were more sensitive to the drug dose of nicotine than were community controls who also smoked.

,Explicit memory is often referred to as ,knowing what, and implicit memory to ,knowing how,,, said Sara Jo Nixon, professor and director of the Neurocognitive Laboratory at the University of Kentucky. ,However, the impact of chronic excessive alcohol consumption on implicit memory has been less clear and less frequently studied.
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Nixon added that the study,s findings ,illustrate that not all types of ,memory, are equally affected and that, indeed, certain fundamental memory functions may be intact even when clinically relevant memory dysfunction exists.These intact functions may provide a foundation for longer-term recovery, at least in non- Korsakoff patients,, she said.

Funding for this Addiction Science Made Easy project is provided by the Addiction Technology Transfer Center National Office, under the cooperative agreement from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment of SAMHSA.

"Explicit memory is often referred to as 'knowing what' and implicit memory to 'knowing how,'" said Sara Jo Nixon, professor and director of the Neurocognitive Laboratory at the University of Kentucky.
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"The findings of the study and their implications are intriguing," added Nixon.
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Nixon added that the study's findings "illustrate that not all types of 'memory' are equally affected and that, indeed, certain fundamental memory functions may be intact even when clinically relevant memory dysfunction exists.These intact functions may provide a foundation for longer-term recovery, at least in non-Korsakoff patients," she said.

Add'l Contact: Sara Jo Nixon, Ph.D.sara.jo.nixon@uky.edu859-257-6827University of Kentucky
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"Because Western society is largely verbal as opposed to visual-spatial, much emphasis is placed on verbal processes," added Sara Jo Nixon, professor and director of the Neurocognitive Laboratory at the University of Kentucky.
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"To me the findings suggest that alcoholics will simply have to exert more cognitive energy to complete tasks," said Nixon.

"To me, the findings suggest that alcoholics will simply have to exert more cognitive energy to complete tasks," added fellow researcher Sara Jo Nixon, a professor and director of the Neurocognitive Laboratory at the University of Kentucky.

"The long-term cost of this expenditure might be seen in any or all of several ways, such as chronic fatigue, lack of vigilance and distractibility," Nixon added.

"To me, the findings suggest that alcoholics will simply have to exert more cognitive energy to complete tasks," added fellow researcher Sara Jo Nixon, a professor and director of the Neurocognitive Laboratory at the University of Kentucky.

"The long-term cost of this expenditure might be seen in any or all of several ways, such as chronic fatigue, lack of vigilance and distractibility," Nixon added.

Co-authors of the ACER paper, "Smoking Comorbidity in Alcoholism: Neurobiological and Neurocognitive Consequences," were: Yousef Tizabi of the Department of Pharmacology at Howard University; Julie K. Staley of the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University; Timothy C. Durazzo of the Department of Veteran's Affairs Medical Center San Francisco; Jennifer M. Glass of the Addiction Research Center at the University of Michigan; and Sara Jo Nixon of the Department of Psychology at the University of Kentucky.

Sara Jo Nixon, Ph.D. sara.jo.nixon@uky.edu 859-257-6827 University of Kentucky
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"Explicit memory is often referred to as 'knowing what' and implicit memory to 'knowing how,'" said Sara Jo Nixon, professor and director of the Neurocognitive Laboratory at the University of Kentucky.
...
"The findings of the study and their implications are intriguing," added Nixon.
...
Nixon added that the study's findings "illustrate that not all types of 'memory' are equally affected and that, indeed, certain fundamental memory functions may be intact even when clinically relevant memory dysfunction exists.These intact functions may provide a foundation for longer-term recovery, at least in non-Korsakoff patients," she said.

"Explicit memory is often referred to as ‘knowing what' and implicit memory to ‘knowing how,'" said Sara Jo Nixon, professor and director of the Neurocognitive Laboratory at the University of Kentucky.
...
"The findings of the study and their implications are intriguing," added Nixon.
...
Nixon added that the study's findings "illustrate that not all types of ‘memory' are equally affected and that, indeed, certain fundamental memory functions may be intact even when clinically relevant memory dysfunction exists.These intact functions may provide a foundation for longer-term recovery, at least in non-Korsakoff patients," she said.