In:
Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Vol. 276, No. 5321 ( 1997-06-27), p. 2048-2050
Abstract:
The effects of the active ingredient of Cannabis , Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ 9 -THC), and of the highly addictive drug heroin on in vivo dopamine transmission in the nucleus accumbens were compared in Sprague-Dawley rats by brain microdialysis. Δ 9 -THC and heroin increased extracellular dopamine concentrations selectively in the shell of the nucleus accumbens; these effects were mimicked by the synthetic cannabinoid agonist WIN55212-2. SR141716A, an antagonist of central cannabinoid receptors, prevented the effects of Δ 9 -THC but not those of heroin. Naloxone, a generic opioid antagonist, administered systemically, or naloxonazine, an antagonist of μ 1 opioid receptors, infused into the ventral tegmentum, prevented the action of cannabinoids and heroin on dopamine transmission. Thus, Δ 9 -THC and heroin exert similar effects on mesolimbic dopamine transmission through a common μ 1 opioid receptor mechanism located in the ventral mesencephalic tegmentum.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0036-8075
,
1095-9203
DOI:
10.1126/science.276.5321.2048
Language:
English
Publisher:
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Publication Date:
1997
detail.hit.zdb_id:
128410-1
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2066996-3
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2060783-0
SSG:
11
