PLoS One
2020
Alexandre Seillier, Alex A Martinez, Andrea Giuffrida
Social withdrawal in the sub-chronic phencyclidine (PCP) rat model, a behavioral correlate of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, results from deficits in brain endocannabinoid transmission. As cannabis intake has been shown to affect negatively the course and expression of psychosis, we tested whether the beneficial effects of endocannabinoid-mediated CB1 activation on social withdrawal in...
The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology
April 1, 2018
David D. Aguilar, Andrea Giuffrida, Daniel J Lodge
Epidemiological studies recognize cannabis intake as a risk factor for schizophrenia, yet the majority of adolescents who use marijuana do not develop psychosis. Similarly, the abuse of synthetic cannabinoids poses a risk for psychosis. For these reasons, it is imperative to understand the effects of adolescent cannabinoid exposure in susceptible individuals. We recently developed a novel...
Behavioural Pharmacology
October 1, 2017
Alexandre Seillier, Andrea Giuffrida
Social withdrawal should not be considered a direct measure of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia as it may result not only from asociality (primary negative symptom) but also from other altered processes such as anxiety. To understand the contribution of these two factors to social deficit, we investigated whether the social withdrawal observed in the subchronic phencyclidine (PCP) rat...
Neurosciences research
April 19, 2016
J. Matricon, Alexandre Seillier, Andrea Giuffrida
The fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitor, URB597, an endocannabinoid enhancing drug, reverses social withdrawal in the sub-chronic PCP rat model of schizophrenia, but reduces social interaction (SI) in controls. To identify the anatomical substrates associated with PCP-induced social withdrawal and the contrasting effects of URB597 on SI in PCP- versus saline-treated rats, we analyzed...
European Neuropsychopharmacology
February 2016
Alexandre Seillier, Andrea Giuffrida
Previous studies have shown that social withdrawal in the phencyclidine (PCP) rat model of schizophrenia results from deficient endocannabinoid-induced activation of CB1 receptors. To understand the underlying cognitive mechanisms of the social deficit in PCP-treated rats, we examined the impact of pharmacological manipulation of the endocannabinoid system on sociability (i.e. social approach)...
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior
June 2011
Alexandre Seillier, Andrea Giuffrida
Sub-chronic administration of PCP produces a social interaction deficit that is reversed by URB597, an inhibitor of the catabolic enzyme of the endocannabinoid anandamide. Since increased anxiety may contribute to social withdrawal and URB597 has been shown to have an anxiolytic action, we studied whether this drug affected saline- and PCP-treated rats' performance in the Elevated-Plus-Maze...
Schizophrenia Research
August 2007
F Markus Leweke, Andrea Giuffrida, Dagmar Koethe et al.
Previous studies have shown that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from schizophrenic patients contains significantly higher levels of the endogenous cannabinoid anandamide than does CSF from healthy volunteers. Moreover, CSF anandamide levels correlated inversely with psychotic symptoms, suggesting that anandamide release in the central nervous system (CNS) may serve as an adaptive mechanism...
Neuroreport
June 3, 1999
F. Leweke, Andrea Giuffrida, U. Wurster et al.
Evidence suggests that cannabinoid receptors, the pharmacologcial target of cannabis-derived drugs, and their accompanying system of endogenous activators may be dysfunctional in schizophrenia. To test this hypothesis, we examined whether endogenous cannabinoid concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid of schizophrenic patients are altered compared to nonschizophrenic controls. Endogenous...