CB-1 receptor agonist drastically changes oscillatory activity, defining active sleep.
Irina Topchiy, Bernat Kocsis
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences April 22, 2025 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2411063122 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Rats |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Keywords | Rem sleep Intermediate sleep Schizophrenia Sleep spindles |
| Key findings | CB1 receptor activation disrupts REM and intermediate sleep, reducing theta oscillations and altering spindle architecture in rats. |
Abstract
Brain oscillations in different behavioral states are essential for cognition, and oscillopathies contribute to cognitive dysfunction in neuropsychiatric diseases. Cannabis-1 receptor (CB1-R) activation was reported to suppress theta and fast gamma activities in rats during waking exploration, and here, we show that cannabis fundamentally alters network activity during sleep as well. Prominent theta rhythm is present in rapid eye movement sleep (REMS), whereas fast oscillations appear as regular sequences of sleep spindles during intermediate sleep (IS)-both implicated in dreaming and memory consolidation. The CB1-R agonist disrupted these mechanisms, restructuring IS-REMS episodes; IS lengthened sixfold and intruded REMS, where ongoing theta was drastically reduced. The spindle architecture was also affected; its amplitude increased, and its peak frequency downshifted into the theta range. Cannabis is known to induce psychotic-like conditions and cognitive deficits; thus, our results may help in understanding the dual effect of cannabis on cognitive states and the role of network oscillations in psychiatric pathology.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on cannabis, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- Altered Network Function in Hippocampus After Sub-Chronic Activation of Cannabinoid Receptors in Early Adolescence. International Journal of Molecular Sciences December 18, 2025
- Altered network function in hippocampus after sub-chronic activation of Cannabis receptors in peri-adolescence. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology September 21, 2025
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