Effect of chronic exposure to rimonabant and phytocannabinoids on anxiety-like behavior and saccharin palatability.
Lesley D O'Brien, Kiri L Wills, Blair Segsworth, Brittany Dashney, Erin M Rock, Cheryl L Limebeer, Linda A. Parker
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior January 2013 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2012.10.008 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Animal experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Animal models (species not specified) of anxiety-like behavior and palatability processing |
| Interventions | Rimonabant Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) Cannabidiol (CBD) Cannabigerol (CBG) |
| Duration | 14 days of drug administration, with tests on Days 1, 7 and 14 |
| Measures | Light-Dark (LD) immersion test, taste reactivity (TR) test |
| Topics | Anxiety |
| Key findings | Rimonabant, but not THCV, produced an acute anxiety-like reaction and reduced saccharin palatability, with neither effect enhanced by 14 days of exposure. Δ9-THC produced an acute anxiety-like reaction and enhanced saccharin palatability on day 1 only. CBD and CBG did not modify anxiety-like responding; CBG weakly enhanced saccharin palatability on day 1 only. The authors suggest rimonabant's effects are mediated by CB1 inverse agonism. |
Abstract
The acute effects of cannabinoid compounds have been investigated in animal models of anxiety-like behavior and palatability processing. However, the chronic effects of cannabinoids in such models are poorly understood. Experiment 1 compared the effects of both acute and chronic (14 days) exposure to the CB(1) receptor inverse agonist/antagonist, rimonabant, and the cannabis-derived CB(1) receptor neutral antagonist, tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), on: 1) time spent in the open, lit box in the Light-Dark (LD) immersion model of anxiety-like behavior and 2) saccharin hedonic reactions in the taste reactivity (TR) test of palatability processing. Experiment 2 compared the effects of chronic administration of cannabis-derived Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ(9)-THC), cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG) in these models. Tests were administered on Days 1, 7 and 14 of drug administration. In Experiment 1, rimonabant, but not THCV, produced an anxiogenic-like reaction in the LD immersion test and reduced saccharin palatability in the TR test; both of these effects occurred acutely and were not enhanced by chronic exposure. In Experiment 2, Δ(9)-THC also produced an acute anxiogenic-like reaction in the LD immersion test, without enhancement by chronic exposure. However, Δ(9)-THC enhanced saccharin palatability in the TR test on Day 1 of drug exposure only. CBD and CBG did not modify anxiety-like responding, but CBG produced a weak enhancement of saccharin palatability on Day 1 only. The results suggest that the anxiogenic-like reactions and the suppression of hedonic responding produced by rimonabant, are mediated by inverse agonism of the CB(1) receptor and these effects are not enhanced with chronic exposure.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychedelics, but Not Ketamine, Produce Persistent Antidepressant-like Effects in a Rodent Experimental System for the Study of Depression Rats | 2020 | Preclinical study | |
| Effects of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine on Rat Behaviors Relevant to Anxiety and Depression Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats | 2018 | Experimental study | |
| Chronic, Intermittent Microdoses of the Psychedelic N , N -Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) Produce Positive Effects on Mood and Anxiety in Rodents Male rats | 2019 | Animal study | |
| 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine facilitates fear extinction learning Mice | 2015 | Preclinical experimental study | |
| Repeated lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) reverses stress-induced anxiety-like behavior, cortical synaptogenesis deficits and serotonergic neurotransmission decline Male mice exposed to chronic restraint stress | 2022 | Preclinical experimental study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Acute and Extended Anxiolytic Effects of Cannabidiol in Cannabis Flower: A Quasi-Experimental ad libitum Use Study Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research January 22, 2024
- Evaluating Potential Anxiolytic Effects of Minor Cannabinoids and Terpenes After Acute and Chronic Oral Administration in Rats. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research September 2023
- Endocannabinoid System and Exogenous Cannabinoids in Depression and Anxiety: A Review Brain Science February 1, 2023
- Effect of prior foot shock stress and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiolic acid, and cannabidiol on anxiety-like responding in the light-dark emergence test in rats. Psychopharmacology July 2017
- Interactions between cannabidiol and Δ9-THC following acute and repeated dosing: Rebound hyperactivity, sensorimotor gating and epigenetic and neuroadaptive changes in the mesolimbic pathway. European Neuropsychopharmacology February 2017
Cites 5
- A behavioural comparison of acute and chronic Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol in C57BL/6JArc mice. The International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology August 2010
- The diverse CB1 and CB2 receptor pharmacology of three plant cannabinoids: delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol and delta9-tetrahydrocannabivarin. British Journal of Pharmacology January 2008
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- Pharmacological evaluation of cannabinoid receptor ligands in a mouse model of anxiety: further evidence for an anxiolytic role for endogenous cannabinoid signaling. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics July 2006
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