Sexually dimorphic alterations in locomotion and reversal learning after adolescent tetrahydrocannabinol exposure in the rat.
Lauren C Harte, Diana Dow-Edwards
Neurotoxicology and Teratology 2010 DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2010.05.001 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Juvenile/early adolescent and late adolescent rats of both sexes |
| Intervention | THC |
| Dose | 2mg/kg |
| Duration | Daily injections during postnatal day 22-40 or postnatal day 41-60, with testing in adulthood |
| Measures | active place avoidance test (APA) |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key findings | THC administered during early adolescence caused locomotor depression in both male and female rats and increased errors on a reversal learning trial in adulthood, while THC during late adolescence depressed locomotion only in females. The authors suggest females may be more sensitive to THC than males, and early adolescents more vulnerable than late adolescents or young adults. |
Abstract
Research suggests that use and abuse of marijuana can be especially harmful if it occurs during adolescence, a period of vast developmental changes throughout the brain. We examined the effects of 2mg/kg (9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) administered daily via intra-peritoneal injections during juvenile/early adolescence (postnatal day 22-40) or late adolescence (postnatal day 41-60) on locomotor activity, development of tolerance, and acquisition/retention of spatial avoidance in adulthood. THC caused locomotor depression in both male and female animals dosed during early adolescence but only in female animals dosed during late adolescence. Evidence of reverse tolerance to THC was seen in early adolescent animals only. In the active place avoidance test (APA), male and female animals administered THC during early adolescence made more errors on the reversal trial requiring flexibility in learning, but in animals dosed during late adolescence there were no significant sex or treatment differences. The results of the locomotor activity study indicate that females may be more sensitive to the effects of THC than males, while results of both locomotor activity and APA studies suggest that early adolescents appear to be more vulnerable to these effects than late adolescents/young adults.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on cannabis, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 8
- Disruption of Reelin signaling in a dual-hit mouse model of schizophrenia: impact of postnatal Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol exposure in a maternal immune activation model Translational Psychiatry July 16, 2026
- Effect of Cannabis on Memory Consolidation, Learning and Retrieval and Its Current Legal Status in India: A Review. Biomolecules January 12, 2023
- Phytocannabinoids and schizophrenia: Focus on adolescence as a critical window of enhanced vulnerability and opportunity for treatment. Pharmacological Research December 1, 2021
- Detrimental effects of adolescent escalating low-dose Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinol leads to a specific bio-behavioural profile in adult male rats. British Journal of Pharmacology April 2021
- The implications of late-life cannabis use on brain health: A mapping review and implications for future research. Ageing Research Reviews February 25, 2020
and 3 more in the library
Cites 9
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- Behavioral sensitization to delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cross-sensitization with morphine: differential changes in accumbal shell and core dopamine transmission. Journal of Neurochemistry August 2008
- The synthetic cannabinoid HU210 induces spatial memory deficits and suppresses hippocampal firing rate in rats. British Journal of Pharmacology July 2007
- Differential anxiogenic, aversive, and locomotor effects of THC in adolescent and adult rats. Psychopharmacology May 2007
and 4 more in the library