UC Irvine

In the past decade overall, there have been increases in adolescent nicotine and cannabinoid use. Yet the long-term implications of this drug exposure, in particular the co-exposure of both of these drugs, on cognition, reward-related behaviors, later drug intake, and relapse-related behaviors is largely understudied. This dissertation explores the novel studies conducted to assess the long-term implications of adolescent nicotine and cannabinoid exposure. Using various behavioral paradigms and intravenous nicotine self-administration in a mouse model, we have shown that adolescent exposure to a cannabinoid or co-exposure to both nicotine and a cannabinoid alters anxiety-related behaviors, cognitive flexibility, natural reward consumption, and nicotine intake in a sex-dependent manner (Pushkin et al. 2019 and Dukes et al. 2020). Moreover, we have shown that adolescent drug exposure can alter the responsivity to cue-induced drug seeking later in life (Dukes et al. 2022 in prep). The final chapter of this dissertation branches off into a more global perspective focusing on the importance of proper mentorship and support for people from historically marginalized backgrounds in the field of neuroscience (Dukes 2020, Singleton et al. 2020, and Singleton et al. 2021).