Search results for "Cannabinoid"
showing 10 items of 323 documents
Reward-related limbic memory and stimulation of the cannabinoid system: An upgrade in value attribution?
2018
While a lot is known about the mechanisms promoting aversive learning, the impact of rewarding factors on memory has received comparatively less attention. This research investigates reward-related explicit memory in male rats, by taking advantage of the emotional-object recognition test. This is based on the prior association, during conditioned learning, between a rewarding experience (the encounter with a receptive female rat) and an object; afterwards rat discrimination and recognition of the â emotional objectâ is recorded in the presence of a novel object, as a measure of positive limbic memory formation. Since endocannabinoids are critical for processing reward and motivation, the co…
Neuronal nitric oxide synthase is involved in CB/TRPV1 signalling: Focus on control of hippocampal hyperexcitability
2017
Cannabinoids (CB), transient receptors potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1) and nitric oxide (NO) were found to be interlinked in regulating some neuronal functions such as membrane excitability and synaptic transmission. TRPV1 play a fundamental role since it represents a synaptic target for CB that triggers several downstream cellular pathways. In this regard, recent evidence report that TRPV1 could influence NO production by modulating neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) activity. In the present research, we pointed to manipulate nNOS function to assess its role on TRPV1 signalling in hyperexcitability conditions elicited in the dentate gyrus of hippocampal formation. The activation of TRPV1 recep…
Ketogenic Diet Decreases Alcohol Intake in Adult Male Mice
2021
The classic ketogenic diet is a diet high in fat, low in carbohydrates, and well-adjusted proteins. The reduction in glucose levels induces changes in the body’s metabolism, since the main energy source happens to be ketone bodies. Recent studies have suggested that nutritional interventions may modulate drug addiction. The present work aimed to study the potential effects of a classic ketogenic diet in modulating alcohol consumption and its rewarding effects. Two groups of adult male mice were employed in this study, one exposed to a standard diet (SD, n = 15) and the other to a ketogenic diet (KD, n = 16). When a ketotic state was stable for 7 days, animals were exposed to the oral self-a…
Masturbation to Orgasm Stimulates the Release of the Endocannabinoid 2-Arachidonoylglycerol in Humans
2017
Abstract Background Endocannabinoids are critical for rewarding behaviors such as eating, physical exercise, and social interaction. The role of endocannabinoids in mammalian sexual behavior has been suggested because of the influence of cannabinoid receptor agonists and antagonists on rodent sexual activity. However, the involvement of endocannabinoids in human sexual behavior has not been studied. Aim To investigate plasma endocannabinoid levels before and after masturbation in healthy male and female volunteers. Outcomes Plasma levels of the endocannabinoids 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), anandamide, the endocannabinoid-like lipids oleoyl ethanolamide and palmitoyl ethanolamide, arachido…
Myocardial maladaptation to pressure overload in CB2 receptor-deficient mice
2019
Abstract Background Adaptation to aortic valve stenosis leads to myocardial hypertrophy, which has been associated with inflammation, fibrosis and activation of the endocannabinoid system. Since the endocannabinoid system and the CB2 receptor provide cardioprotection and modulate immune response in experimental ischemia, we investigated the role of CB2 in a mouse model of cardiac pressure overload. Methods Transverse aortic constriction was performed in CB2 receptor-deficient (Cnr2−/−) mice and their wild-type littermates (Cnr2+/+). After echocardiography and Millar left heart catheter hemodynamic evaluation hearts were processed for histological, cellular and molecular analyses. Results Th…
The FAAH inhibitor URB597 suppresses hippocampal maximal dentate afterdischarges and restores seizure-induced impairment of short and long-term synap…
2017
Synthetic cannabinoids and phytocannabinoids have been shown to suppress seizures both in humans and experimental models of epilepsy. However, they generally have a detrimental effect on memory and memory-related processes. Here we compared the effect of the inhibition of the endocannabinoid (eCB) degradation versus synthetic CB agonist on limbic seizures induced by maximal dentate activation (MDA) acute kindling. Moreover, we investigated the dentate gyrus (DG) granule cell reactivity and synaptic plasticity in naïve and in MDA-kindled anaesthetised rats. We found that both the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitor URB597 and the synthetic cannabinoid agonist WIN55,212-2 displayed AM…
Age differences in the role of the cannabinoid type 1 receptor on glutamatergic neurons in habituation and spatial memory acquisition
2015
Abstract Aims Aging is typically linked with a decline in memory performance and alterations in neural integrity. In pathological aging such as Alzheimer's disease, these effects are aggravated. Studies using cannabinoid CB1 receptor-deficient mice have shown a role of the endocannabinoid system in memory processing and neuroprotection. As the CB1 receptor is expressed in various neuronal populations, in this study, we aimed at investigating the consequences of CB1 receptor gene inactivation in cortical glutamatergic neurons in mice (Glu-CB1-KO) in regard to age-related alterations in spatial memory performance. Main methods Juvenile (5.5–7.5 weeks), adult (5.5–7 months), and old (11.5–14 m…
Effect of the CB1 cannabinoid agonist WIN 55212-2 on the acquisition and reinstatement of MDMA-induced conditioned place preference in mice
2010
AbstractBackgroundNumerous reports indicate that MDMA users consume other psychoactive drugs, among which cannabis is one of the most common. The aim of the present study was to evaluate, using the conditioned place preference, the effect of the cannabinoid agonist WIN 55,212-2 on the rewarding effects of MDMA in mice.MethodsIn the first experiment adolescent mice were initially conditioned with 1.25, 2.5 or 5 mg/kg of MDMA or 0.1 or 0.5 mg/kg of WIN and subsequently with both drugs. Reinstatement of the extinguished preference by priming doses was performed in the groups that showed CPP. In the second experiment, animals were conditioned with 2.5 or 5 mg/kg of MDMA and, after extinction, r…
Acute blockade of CB1 receptor leads to reinstatement of MDMA-induced conditioned place preference
2011
Cannabis is one of the drugs most commonly consumed in combination with ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA). Although numerous studies have attempted to further our understanding of the role of the cannabinoid system in drug abuse, few have focused on how it influences the rewarding effects of MDMA. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of the CB1 cannabinoid receptor in vulnerability to reinstatement of a MDMA-induced conditioned place preference (CPP). Mice were first conditioned with 5mg/kg of MDMA. Once the preference had been extinguished, a priming dose of MDMA, alone or plus the CB1 cannabinoid agonist WIN 55,212-2 (0.1 and 0.5mg/kg) or the CB1 cannabino…
Long-term effects on cortical glutamate release induced by prenatal exposure to the cannabinoid receptor agonist (r)-(+)-[2,3-dihydro-5-methyl-3-(4-m…
2003
The aim of the present in vivo microdialysis study was to investigate whether prenatal exposure to the CB1 receptor agonist WIN55,212-2 mesylate (WIN; (R)-()-(2,3- dihydro-5-methyl-3-(4-morpholinyl-methyl)pyrrolo(1,2,3-de)- 1,4-benzoxazin-6-yl)-1-naphthalenylmethanone), at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg (s.c. from the fifth to the 20th day of gestation), that causes neither malformations nor overt signs of toxicity, influences cortical glutamate extracellular levels in adult (90- day old) rats. Dam weight gain, pregnancy length and litter size at birth were not significantly affected by prenatal treatment with WIN. Basal and K-evoked dialysate glutamate levels were lower in the cerebral cortex of adul…