Different effects of chronic THC on the neuroadaptive response of dopamine D2/3 receptor-mediated signaling in roman high- and roman low-avoidance rats.
Benjamin B Tournier, Andrea Dimiziani, Stergios Tsartsalis, Philippe Millet, Nathalie Ginovart
Synapse April 2018 DOI: 10.1002/syn.22023 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Roman high-avoidance (RHA) and Roman low-avoidance (RLA) rat sublines |
| Interventions | Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) quinpirole |
| Topics | Addiction Cannabis |
| Keywords | Cb1 receptors D2/3 receptors Dopamine |
| Key findings | Chronic THC produced greater neuroadaptive changes in RLA than RHA rats, with increased striatal D2/3 receptor availability and supersensitivity to quinpirole in RLA rats only. The authors argue this contrasts with RLA rats' resistance to psychostimulant neuroadaptation and suggests they may have heightened proneness to cannabinoid drug-seeking. |
Abstract
The Roman high (RHA)- and low (RLA)-avoidance rat sublines have been identified as an addiction-prone and addiction-resistant phenotype based on their high vs. low locomotor responsiveness to novelty and high vs. low ability to develop neurochemical and behavioral sensitization to psychostimulants, respectively. Most studies though have focused on psychostimulants and little is known about the neuroadaptive response of these two lines to cannabinoids. This study investigated the effects of chronic exposure to Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on dopamine D2/3 receptor (D2/3 R) availabilities and functional sensitivity in the mesostriatal system of RHA and RLA rats. At baseline, RLA rats exhibited higher densities of mesostriatal D2/3R but lower levels of striatal CB1 R mRNA and displayed a lower locomotor response to acute THC as compared to RHAs. Following chronic THC treatment, striking changes in D2/3 R signaling were observed in RLA but not in RHA rats, namely an increased availability and functional supersensitivity of striatal D2/3 R, as evidenced by a supersensitive psychomotor response to the D2/3 R agonist quinpirole. Moreover, in RLA rats, the lower was the locomotor response to acute THC, the higher was the psychomotor response to quinpirole following chronic THC. These results showing a greater neuroadaptive response of RLA vs. RHA rats to chronic THC thus contrast with previous studies showing a resistance to neuroadaptive response of RLAs to psychostimulants, This suggests that, contrasting with their low proneness to psychostimulant drug-seeking, RLAs may exhibit a heightened proneness to cannabinoid drug-seeking as compared to RHA rats.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on cannabis for addiction, most cited first.