Loading...
In an animal study, researchers examined possible mechanisms by which tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of cannabis, changes the way in which the brain processes mood, motivation, cognition, and self-control.
First, investigators treated rats for 2 weeks with concentrations of THC equivalent to blood levels in human marijuana smokers. Then, beginning the next day, when the drug is no longer detectable in animal studies, electrophysiologic and optogenetic methods were used to measure changes in input to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), basolateral amygdala (BLA), and the ventral hippocampus (vHipp).
Through a variety of pre- and postsynaptic changes in excitatory amino-acid signal…