Adolescent exposure to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and ethanol heightens sensitivity to fear stimuli. Behav Brain Res 2021 Oct 11;415:113517
Date
08/15/2021Pubmed ID
34389427Pubmed Central ID
PMC8404161DOI
10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113517Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85112359087 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 7 CitationsAbstract
Cannabis use disorder (CUD) has doubled in prevalence over the past decade as a nation-wide trend toward legalization allows for increased drug accessibility. As a result, marijuana has become the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States particularly among the adolescent population. This is especially concerning since there is greater risk for the harmful side effects of drug use during this developmental period due to ongoing brain maturation. Increasing evidence indicates that CUD often occurs along with other debilitating conditions including both alcohol use disorder (AUD) and anxiety disorders such post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Additionally, exposure to cannabis, alcohol, and stress can induce alterations in glutamate regulation and homeostasis in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) that may lead to impairments in neuronal functioning and cognition. Therefore, in order to study the relationship between drug exposure and the development of PTSD, these studies utilized rodent models to determine the impact of adolescent exposure to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and ethanol on responses to fear stimuli during fear conditioning and used calcium imaging to measure glutamate activity in the prelimbic cortex during this behavioral paradigm. The results from these experiments indicate that adolescent exposure to THC and ethanol leads to enhanced sensitivity to fear stimuli both behaviorally and neuronally. Additionally, these effects were attenuated when animals were treated with the glutamatergic modulator N-acetylcysteine (NAC). In summary, these studies support the hypothesis that adolescent exposure to THC and ethanol leads to alterations in fear stimuli processing through glutamatergic reliant modifications in PFC signaling.
Author List
Smiley CE, Saleh HK, Nimchuk KE, Garcia-Keller C, Gass JTAuthor
Constanza Garcia Keller PhD Assistant Professor in the Pharmacology and Toxicology department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Age FactorsAnimals
Behavior, Animal
Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists
Central Nervous System Depressants
Conditioning, Classical
Dronabinol
Ethanol
Fear
Male
Rats
Rats, Wistar
