ACS Chemical Neuroscience
June 17, 2026
Anoushka Bhat, Elmira Zolali, Mahfuz A Sakib et al.
Psychedelics have re-emerged as promising therapeutics for neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorders. While their beneficial effects are largely attributed to serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptor activation, psychedelics exhibit substantial diversity in chemical structure, receptor binding kinetics, metabolism, and duration...
Pharmaceutical Sciences
April 30, 2026
Elmira Zolali, Lance R Mcmahon, Samuel Obeng
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Pharmacological Reports
April 1, 2026
Elmira Zolali, Mallory Burns, Sebastiano Intagliata et al.
BACKGROUND: Mu opioid receptor (MOR) agonists are the primary medication class used to treat moderate to severe pain; however, the ongoing opioid overdose crisis underscores the need for alternatives to MOR agonists for pain treatment. Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a cannabinoid CB1 receptor (CB1R) agonist, and sigma1 receptor (σ1R) antagonists elicit antinociceptive effects albeit less...
Psychopharmacology
February 7, 2025
Sabrina Zequeira, Emely A. Gazarov, Alara A. Güvenli et al.
With increasing legalization of recreational and medical cannabis, use of this drug is growing rapidly among older adults. As cannabis can impair cognition in young adults, it is critically important to understand how its consumption interacts with the cognitive profile of aged subjects, who are already at increased risk of decline. The current study was designed to determine how cannabis...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
August 1, 2016
Lance R Mcmahon
Cannabidiol, a therapeutic with potential serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) 5-HT1A receptor agonist activity, is the second most prevalent cannabinoid in Cannabis after Δ(9)-THC. The extent to which cannabidiol modifies the effects of Δ(9)-THC has not been firmly established, especially with respect to abuse-related effects in rhesus monkeys where previously antagonistic interactions have...
European Journal of Pharmacology
March 15, 2014
Lenka Hruba, Lance R Mcmahon
Synthetic cannabinoid abuse and case reports of adverse effects have raised concerns about the pharmacologic mechanisms underlying in vivo effects. Here, a synthetic cannabinoid identified in abused products (HU-210) was compared to the effects of Δ(9)-THC and two other synthetic cannabinoid agonists used extensively in pre-clinical studies (CP 55,940 and WIN 55,212-2). One group of monkeys...
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
January 2012
Brett C Ginsburg, David R Schulze, Lenka Hruba et al.
Products containing naphthalen-1-yl-(1-pentylindol-3-yl) methanone (JWH-018) and naphthalen-1-yl-(1-butylindol-3-yl) methanone (JWH-073) are emerging drugs of abuse. Here, the behavioral effects of JWH-018 and JWH-073 were examined in one behavioral assay selective for cannabinoid agonism, rhesus monkeys (n = 4) discriminating Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹-THC; 0.1 mg/kg i.v.), and another assay...
British Journal of Pharmacology
September 2011
Jennifer L. Stewart, Lance R Mcmahon
The fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitor URB 597 increases brain anandamide levels, suggesting that URB 597 could enhance the behavioural effects of anandamide. The goal of the current study was to examine and characterize the in vivo pharmacology of URB 597 alone and in combination with anandamide and Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹ -THC) in two drug discrimination assays in rhesus monkeys. The...
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
July 2010
Jennifer L. Stewart, Lance R Mcmahon
Marijuana-dependent individuals report using marijuana to alleviate withdrawal, suggesting that pharmacotherapy of marijuana withdrawal could promote abstinence. To identify potential pharmacotherapies for marijuana withdrawal, this study first characterized rimonabant-induced Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta(9)-THC) withdrawal in rhesus monkeys by using drug discrimination and directly...
Psychopharmacology
April 2009
Lance R Mcmahon
Anandamide and Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta(9)-THC) sometimes produce different discriminative stimulus effects and, therefore, appear to differ in their mechanism of action. In order to understand the widespread use of cannabis and the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids, mechanisms responsible for behavioral effects need to be identified. Drug discrimination was used to compare the...
Psychopharmacology
August 2008
Jun-Xu Li, Lance R Mcmahon, Lisa R Gerak et al.
Opioid receptor agonists can enhance some effects of cannabinoid receptor agonists, and cannabinoid receptor agonists can enhance some effects of opioid receptor agonists; however, the generality of these interactions is not established. This study examined interactions between the discriminative stimulus and antinociceptive effects of mu opioid receptor agonists and...
Psychopharmacology
July 2008
Lance R Mcmahon, Brett C Ginsburg, R J Lamb
A variety of behavioral procedures have been developed to assess cannabinoid activity in mice; however, the feasibility of establishing Delta(9)-THC as a discriminative stimulus in mice has not been documented. One goal was to establish Delta(9)-THC as a discriminative stimulus in mice; after having done so, another goal was to examine the in vivo mechanism of action of Delta(9)-THC with other...
Behavioural Pharmacology
September 2005
Lance R Mcmahon, M R Amin, Charles P France
The prototypic cannabinoid CB1 antagonist SR 141716A is one important pharmacologic tool for examining CB1 receptors that mediate the behavioral and physiologic effects of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta9-THC). This study examined the effects of SR 141716A on the rate-decreasing, hypothermic and discriminative stimulus effects of delta9-THC in rhesus monkeys. In monkeys (n=4) responding...