Ian Stolerman

The behavioural analysis of drug dependence has been Ian Stolerman's major research activity. He has studied a variety of drugs including opiates, psychomotor stimulants, benzodiazepines and alcohol but is best known for research on nicotine dependence on which he has worked for over 30 years. In early studies he obtained evidence that people smoked tobacco to obtain the effects of nicotine and that nicotine was an addictive drug. Subsequent work examined the receptor mechanisms and brain sites through which nicotine acts to bring about dependence and the neurotransmitters involved in mediating its actions downstream from nicotinic receptors. Recent studies have focused on (1) the abiliy of nicotine to enhance cognition in an animal model for assessing attention and (2) on the effects of prenatal exposure to nicotine on the maturation and development of the offspring and on their behaviour during adolescence and adulthood. Another important line of work led to advances in drug discrimination methodology and the first systematic studies of the discrimination of abused drug mixtures.