Sex Differences in Response-Contingent Cannabis Vapor Administration During Adolescence Mediate Enduring Effects on Behavioral Flexibility and Prefrontal Microglia Activation in Rats.

Cannabis is the most used illicit drug in the United States. With many states passing legislation to permit its recreational use, there is concern that cannabis use among adolescents could increase dramatically in the coming years. Historically, it has been difficult to model real-world cannabis use to investigate the causal relationship between cannabis use in adolescence and behavioral and neurobiological effects in adulthood.

Cognitive dysfunction and impaired neuroplasticity following repeated exposure to the synthetic cannabinoid JWH-018 in male mice.

Background And Purpose: Psychotic disorders have been reported in long-term users of synthetic cannabinoids. This study aims at investigating the long-lasting effects of repeated JWH-018 exposure.

Experimental Approach: Male CD-1 mice were injected with vehicle, JWH-018 (6 mg·kg ), the CB -antagonist NESS-0327 (1 mg·kg ) or co-administration of NESS-0327 and JWH-018, every day for 7 days.

Maternal immune activation impairs endocannabinoid signaling in the mesolimbic system of adolescent male offspring.

Prenatal infections can increase the risk of developing psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia in the offspring, especially when combined with other postnatal insults. Here, we tested, in a rat model of prenatal immune challenge by the viral mimic polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidilic acid, whether maternal immune activation (MIA) affects the endocannabinoid system and endocannabinoid-mediated modulation of dopamine functions. Experiments were performed during adolescence to assess i) the behavioral endophenotype (locomotor activity, plus maze, prepulse inhibition of startle reflex); ii) the locomotor activity in response to Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and iii) the properties of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons in vivo and their response to THC; iv) endocannabinoid-mediated synaptic plasticity in VTA dopamine neurons; v) the expression of cannabinoid receptors and enzymes involved in endocannabinoid synthesis and catabolism in mesolimbic structures and vi) MIA-induced neuroinflammatory scenario evaluated by measurements of levels of cytokine and neuroinflammation markers.

Sex differences in adolescent cannabis vapor self-administration mediate enduring effects on behavioral flexibility and prefrontal microglia activation in rats.

Cannabis is the most used illicit drug in the United States. With many states passing legislation to permit its recreational use, there is concern that cannabis use among adolescents could increase dramatically in the coming years. Historically, it has been difficult to model real-world cannabis use to investigate the causal relationship between cannabis use in adolescence and behavioral and neurobiological effects in adulthood.

Assay of GTPγS Binding in Autoradiography.

Autoradiography of radiolabeled GTPγS ([S]GTPγS) binding is a relevant technique to study the function of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) ex vivo. Here, we describe the protocol for such a method, suitable for investigating CB receptor functionality in tissue slices from rodent brains.