Increasing evidence suggests that cannabis exposure during neurodevelopment (i.e., perinatal, adolescent ages) results in persistent alterations in brain circuits underlying neuropsychiatric disorders and leads to an increased risk for certain psychiatr...

Brain serotonin has been implicated in the action of many psychoactive drugs. One agent of particular social and medical interest is Δ9-THC, the major active constituent in marijuana. Although a number of studies have characterized the effect of Δ9-THC on various neurochemical indices of serotonergic function, none has directly examined the effect of this compound on the electrophysiological activity of serotonergic neurons. To determine whether Δ9-THC alters serotonergic neuronal activity, we monitored the firing rate of serotonergic dorsal raphe neurons in behaving animals acutely treated with this agent. Serotonergic neurons were identified and recorded as described previously (Fornal et al., 2001). Systemic administration of Δ9-THC (5 mg/kg, i.p.) produced clear signs of sedation and impaired motor function, which are established characteristics of THC's action. These behavioral effects were evident within 15-30 min after injection and persisted for several hours. During periods when the cats were clea...

Cannabis is one of the most consumed substances by adolescents in North America and its regular use during this developmental period is linked to increased risk of cognitive impairment and psychopathology later in life. Yet, there is a gap in knowledge ...

Cannabis sativa is a plant that contains more than 500 components, of which the most studied are Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Several studies have indicated that CBD displays neurobiological effects, including wake promotion. ...

Appropriate antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) for specific age groups with epilepsy are presently unavailable due to poor understanding of how early-life seizures affect the brain at critical stages in development. Cannabidiol (CBD), the major non-psychoactive...

Prescription opioid abuse is a significant global problem, thus the use of non-opioid drugs has been investigated for the treatment of pain and the reduction of adverse effects such as abuse or overdose. The interaction between cannabinoids and opioids ...

Different doses of an adenosine A2A receptor antagonist MSX-3 [3,7-dihydro-8-[(1E)-2-(3-ethoxyphenyl)ethenyl]-7 methyl-3-[3-(phosphooxy)propyl-1-(2 propynil)-1H-purine-2,6-dione] were found previously to either decrease or increase self-administration of cannabinoids delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or anandamide in squirrel monkeys. It was hypothesized that the decrease observed with a relatively low dose of MSX-3 was related to blockade of striatal presynaptic A2A receptors that modulate glutamatergic neurotransmission, whereas the increase observed with a higher dose was related to blockade of postsynaptic A2A receptors localized in striatopallidal neurons. This hypothesis was confirmed in the present study by testing the effects of the preferential presynaptic and postsynaptic A2A receptor antagonists SCH-442416 \[2-(2-furanyl)-7-[3-(4-methoxyphenyl)propyl]-7H-pyrazolo[4,3-e\]\[1,2,4\]triazolo[1,5-c]pyrimidin-5-amine] and KW-6002 [(E)-1, 3-diethyl-8-(3,4-dimethoxystyryl)-7-methyl-3,7-dihydro-1H-purin...

This study sought to compare cannabidiol to a cannabidiol analog, CBD-VHS, and its ability to attenuate oxycodone reward without affecting its analgesic effects. In Experiment 1) Mice were enrolled in the conditioned place preference paradigm and receiv...

Therapeutic hypothermia is well established as a standard treatment for infants with hypoxic-ischemic (HI) encephalopathy but it is only partially effective. The potential for combination treatments to augment hypothermic neuroprotection has major relevance. Our aim was to assess the effects of treating newborn rats following HI injury with cannabidiol (CBD) at 0.1 or 1 mg/kg, i.p., in normothermic (37.5°C) and hypothermic (32.0°C) conditions, from 7 d of age (neonatal phase) to 37 d of age (juvenile phase). Placebo or CBD was administered at 0.5, 24, and 48 h after HI injury. Two sensorimotor (rotarod and cylinder rearing) and two cognitive (novel object recognition and T-maze) tests were conducted 30 d after HI. The extent of brain damage was determined by magnetic resonance imaging, histologic evaluation, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, amplitude-integrated electroencephalography, and Western blotting. At 37 d, the HI insult produced impairments in all neurobehavioral scores (cognitive and sensorimotor...

Therapeutic hypothermia is well-established as a standard treatment for infants with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy but it is only partially effective. The potential for combination treatments to augment hypothermic neuroprotection has major relevance. Our aim was to assess the effects of treating newborn rats following hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury with cannabidiol (CBD) at 0.1 or 1 mg/kg i.p., in normothermic (37.5°C) and hypothermic (32.0°C) conditions, from 7 (neonatal phase) to 37 days old (juvenile phase). Placebo or CBD were administered at 0.5, 24 and 48 h after HI injury. Two sensorimotor (rotarod and cylinder rearing), and two cognitive (novel object recognition and T-maze) tests were conducted 30 days after HI. The extent of brain damage was determined by magnetic resonance imaging, histological evaluation, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, amplitude-integrated electroencephalography and Western blotting. At 37 days, the HI insult produced impairments in all neurobehavioral score (cognitive and s...