Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol and pentobarbital as discriminative cues in the Mongolian Gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus).
Torbjörn U C Järbe, J O Johansson, B G Henriksson
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior 1975 DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(75)90048-9 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational animal study (drug discrimination/state-dependency experiment) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Male Mongolian gerbils |
| Interventions | delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) pentobarbital amphetamine bemegride |
| Dose | THC 0.5-16.0 mg/kg; pentobarbital 20.0 mg/kg; amphetamine 4.0 mg/kg |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key findings | No THC dose was discriminated as rapidly as pentobarbital (20.0 mg/kg). Reducing training drug amounts or lengthening injection-test intervals decreased drug-associated choices, and transfer between THC and pentobarbital yielded at most 40% drug choices. Mixtures of the compounds increased choices additively or more than additively; amphetamine did not interact with pentobarbital-cued responding, and bemegride antagonized it. |
Abstract
Male Mongolian gerbils were trained to escape electric shocks in a T-shaped maze contingent upon the presence or absence of certain drug effects (state-dependency; StD). The drug discriminative cues used were those of either delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or pentobarbital (P-barb.) vis-à-vis the respective vehicles. Several doses of THC (0.5-16.0 mg/kg) were used and compared with P-barb. (20.0 mg/kg), a dose at which the most rapid drug discrimination occurs in the rat. When drug discrimination was established dose-time- and transfer characteristics for the training drugs were studied. Possible potentiation and antagonism was also examined in the pentobarbital trained gerbils. It was found that none of the THC doses were discriminated as rapidly as that of P-barb. Decreasing the amounts of training drug administered or increasing the injection-test intervals resulted in a decline of the number of drug associated choices. There was a maximum of 40% drug choices between THC and P-barb at the transfer tests. Mixtures of the two compounds increased the number of drug choices in an additive or even more than additive manner. Amphetamine (4.0 mg/kg) did not interact with the P-barb. induced choice responding. The analeptic drug, bemegride was found effective in antagonizing the P-barb. cued choice behavior.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on cannabis, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Characteristics of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-produced discrimination in rats Psychopharmacology 1976
- Discriminative Stimulus Properties of Phytocannabinoids, Endocannabinoids, and Synthetic Cannabinoids. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences 2018
- The endogenous cannabinoid anandamide shares discriminative stimulus effects with ∆(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol in fatty acid amide hydrolase knockout mice. European Journal of Pharmacology April 10, 2011
- Discriminative stimulus properties of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in C57Bl/6J mice. European Journal of Pharmacology August 1, 2009
- Substitution profile of Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol, triazolam, hydromorphone, and methylphenidate in humans discriminating Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Psychopharmacology April 2009