Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is responsible for the intoxicating (psychotropic) effects of cannabis and cannabis-derived products currently available in the legal and illegal markets. The psychotropic effects of THC are produced via activation of CB1 cannabinoid receptors in the brain, which are normally engaged by endogenous cannabinoid (endocannabinoid) substances. Outside the brain, THC...
Introduction: Animal studies suggest that adolescent exposure to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), the intoxicating constituent of cannabis, causes lasting functional alterations in brain and other organs. Those studies often neglect the impact that age- and sex-dependent differences in the distribution and metabolism of the drug might exert on its pharmacological effects. Here, we provide a...
BiomoleculesSeptember 10, 2024Valeria Lallai, TuKiet T Lam, Rolando Garcia-Milian et al.
Given the increasing use of cannabis in the US, there is an urgent need to better understand the drug's effects on central signaling mechanisms. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been identified as intercellular signaling mediators that contain a variety of cargo, including proteins. Here, we examined whether the main psychoactive component in cannabis, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), alters EV...
Introduction: Studies in rodent models have shown that adolescent exposure to Δ9-THC, the psychotropic constituent of cannabis, produces long-lasting alterations in brain function and behavior. However, our understanding of how age and sex might influence the distribution and metabolism of THC in laboratory rodents is still incomplete. In the present report, we provide a comparative analysis of...
There is evidence that cannabis use during adolescence leads to memory and cognitive problems in young adulthood but little is known about effects of early life cannabis exposure on synaptic operations that are critical for encoding and organizing information. We report here that a 14-day course of daily Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol treatments administered to adolescent rats and mice (aTHC) leads to...
Early-life exposure to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), the intoxicating constituent of cannabis, may produce enduring neurochemical changes in brain structures involved in the regulation of sociality but it is still unclear how such changes influence social behavior later in life. In the present study, we exposed male mice to moderate daily doses of Δ9-THC (5 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) during...
PsychopharmacologyDecember 2021C M Ruiz, Alexa Torrens, Valeria Lallai et al.
Adolescent exposure to ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychotropic constituent of cannabis, might affect brain development, and in rodent models leads to long-term behavioral and physiological alterations. Yet, the basic pharmacology of this drug in adolescent rodents, especially when ingested via ecologically relevant routes like aerosol inhalation, commonly referred to as "vaping," is...
The endocannabinoid system modulates neurotransmission at inhibitory and excitatory synapses in brain regions relevant to the regulation of pain, emotion, motivation, and cognition. This signaling system is engaged by the active component of cannabis, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), which exerts its pharmacological effects by activation of G protein-coupled type-1 (CB1) and type-2 (CB2)...
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...
Anandamide is an endogenous ligand for brain cannabinoid CB(1) receptors, but its behavioral effects are difficult to measure due to rapid inactivation. Here we used a drug-discrimination procedure to test the hypothesis that anandamide, given i.v. or i.p., would produce discriminative effects like those of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in rats when its metabolic inactivation was...
Although anecdotal reports suggest that cannabis may be used to alleviate symptoms of depression, the psychotropic effects and abuse liability of this drug prevent its therapeutic application. The active constituent of cannabis, delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol, acts by binding to brain CB1 cannabinoid receptors, but an alternative approach might be to develop agents that amplify the actions of...
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...