The Estrous Cycle Influences the Effects of Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase and Monoacylglycerol Lipase Inhibition in the Anxiety-Like Behavior in Rats.

Sex differences in the response to the anxiety-related effects of cannabinoid drugs have been reported, with females being more sensitive than males. Evidence suggests that, according to sex and estrous cycle phase (ECP), the content of the endocannabinoids (eCBs) N-arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) varies in brain areas involved in the anxiety-like behavior. Considering the lack of studies evaluating sex and ECP differences in the eCB system in anxiety, using URB597, a fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitor, or MJN110, a monoacylglycerol lipase inhibitor, we explored the effects of increasing AEA or 2-AG levels, respectively, in cycling and ovariectomized (OVX) female adult Wistar rats, as well as males, subjected to the elevated plus maze.

Effects of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol on fear memory labilization and reconsolidation: A putative role of GluN2B-NMDA receptor within the dorsal hippocampus.

Cannabis preparations could be an effective reconsolidation-based treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. However, the effects of Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in fear memory labilization, a critical condition for retrieval-induced reconsolidation, are undetermined. We sought to investigate the effect of a conventional and an ultra-low dose of THC in memory labilization of adult male Wistar rats submitted to contextual fear conditioning.

Female but not male rats show biphasic effects of low doses of Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol on anxiety: can cannabidiol interfere with these effects?

Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main phytocannabinoid present in the Cannabis sativa. It can produce dose-dependent anxiolytic or anxiogenic effects in males. THC effects on anxiety have scarcely been studied in females, despite their higher prevalence of anxiety disorders.