Cannabinoid Transmission and Reward-Related Events

El, Gardner; Vorel,

doi:10.1006/nbdi.1998.0219

Cited by 232 publications

(156 citation statements)

References 222 publications

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“…It remains controversial whether marijuana is an atypical or anomalous addictive drug, which interacts with brain reward systems differently than drugs such as methamphetamine that directly activate brain DA systems (e.g., Gardner and Vorel 1998). Our finding of no rCBF changes in the nucleus accumbens and basal ganglia may be taken as support for the position that smoking marijuana does not directly activate reward-relevant DA neurons in the nucleus accumbens and/or basal ganglia.…”

Section: Smoking Marijuana Does Not Increase Rcbf In Basal Ganglia Nmentioning

confidence: 52%

Effects of Smoking Marijuana on Brain Perfusion and Cognition

O'Leary

Block

Koeppel

et al. 2002

Neuropsychopharmacology

156

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Section: Smoking Marijuana Does Not Increase Rcbf In Basal Ganglia Nmentioning

confidence: 52%

Effects of Smoking Marijuana on Brain Perfusion and Cognition

O'Leary

Block

Koeppel

et al. 2002

Neuropsychopharmacology

156

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“…These models include intracranial electrical self-stimulation techniques. Consistent with a role of cannabinoids in the motivational effects of other events that can function as rewards or reinforcers, it has been shown that THC lowers the threshold for electrical brain-stimulation reward in Lewis and Sprague-Dawley rat strains, and that withdrawal from a single administration of THC can elevate brain-stimulation reward thresholds (Gardner et al, 1988;1989;Lepore et al, 1996;Gardner and Vorel, 1998). However, these findings contrast with the lack of THC effects in the Fisher rat strain (Lepore et al, 1996), and the lack of effects of the synthetic CB1 receptor agonist CP 55,940 using the same procedure and a comparable range of doses (Arnold et al, 2001).…”

Section: Subjective and Motivational Effects Of Cannabinoidsmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…It has been confirmed that Δ 9 -THC shares many features with classical drugs of abuse, such as cocaine and heroin (for review see Gardner and Vorel, 1998;Tanda and Goldberg, 2003;Lupica et al, 2004). For example, THC lowers electrical brain-stimulation reward thresholds (Gardner et al, 1988), and increases the firing rate of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopaminergic neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens (French et al, 1997;Gifford et al, 1997), resulting in increased extracellular levels of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (e.g., Chen et al, 1990;Tanda et al, 1997).…”

Section: Subjective and Motivational Effects Of Cannabinoidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-administration of cannabinoids by experimental animals and human marijuana smokers

Justinová

Goldberg

Heishman

2005

Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior

115

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Drug self-administration behavior has been one of the most direct and productive approaches for studying the reinforcing effects of psychoactive drugs, which are critical in determining their abuse potential. Cannabinoids, which are usually abused by humans in the form of marijuana, have become the most frequently abused illicit class of drugs in the United States. The early elucidation of the structure and stereochemistry of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in 1964, which is now recognized as the principal psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, activated cannabinoid research worldwide. This review examines advances in research on cannabinoid self-administration behavior by humans and laboratory animals. There have been numerous laboratory demonstrations of the reinforcing effects of cannabinoids in human subjects, but reliable self-administration of cannabinoids by laboratory animals has only recently been demonstrated. It has now been shown that strong and persistent self-administration behavior can be maintained in experimentally and drugnaïve squirrel monkeys by doses of THC comparable to those in marijuana smoke inhaled by humans. Furthermore, reinforcing effects of some synthetic CB 1 cannabinoid agonists have been recently reported using intravenous and intracerebroventricular self-administration procedures in rats and mice. These findings support previous conclusions that THC has a pronounced abuse liability comparable to other drugs of abuse under certain experimental conditions. Self-administration of THC by squirrel monkeys provides the most reliable animal model for human marijuana abuse available to date. This animal model now makes it possible to study the relative abuse liability of other natural and synthetic cannabinoids and to preclinically assess new therapeutic strategies for the treatment or prevention of marijuana abuse in humans.

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“…Also, THC also has an indirect action on dopamine neurotransmission in the mesolimbic and mesocortical systems (Ameri, 1999;Gardner and Vorel, 1998;Tanda and Goldberg, 2003;Tanda et al, 1997), suggesting that the acute effects of THC include altered catecholamine activity within the corticolimbic pathways that mediate decision-making cognition (Scarna et al, 2005). Other studies in humans indicate that smoked marijuana alters regional cerebral blood flow (ie neural activity) within orbitofrontal and medial prefrontal areas (Mathew et al, 2002;O'Leary et al, 2002;Volkow et al, 1996) known to subserve decision-making function (eg Bechara et al, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Low Doses of Δ-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol on Reinforcement Processing in the Risky Decision-Making of Young Healthy Adults

Rogers

Wakeley

Robson

et al. 2006

Neuropsychopharmacol

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Research suggests that risky decision-making is sensitive to neuromodulatory influences acting upon corticolimbic circuitry. However, while other evidence attests to effects of D-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on the activity of reward pathways, relatively little is known about the possible involvement of cannabinoid activity in risky choice. In this experiment, we examined the effects of a single sublingual 5 mg dose of THC on a test of risky decision-making (requiring choices between simultaneously presented gambles differing in their magnitude of gains, magnitude of losses and the probability with which these outcomes were delivered). Tests of non-normative decision-making involving risk-aversion when deciding between gains and risk-seeking choices when deciding between losses were also included. In all, 15 healthy adults were administered 5 mg THC and placebo in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject, crossover design. THC had three principal effects relative to placebo: (i) THC reduced choice of gambles with variable gains and losses, but increased choice of gambles with zero-expected value; (ii) THC reduced participants' attention towards losses when the probability of winning was low (and the probability of losing was high); and (iii) THC speeded participants' responses to gambles with large compared to small potential gains. These results suggest that THC mediates specific motivational processes and the processing of reinforcement cues during risky choice, perhaps reflecting altered CB 1 receptor or catecholamine activity within corticolimbic pathways.

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Cannabinoid Transmission and Reward-Related Events

Cited by 232 publications

References 222 publications

Effects of Smoking Marijuana on Brain Perfusion and Cognition

Effects of Smoking Marijuana on Brain Perfusion and Cognition

Self-administration of cannabinoids by experimental animals and human marijuana smokers

The Effects of Low Doses of Δ-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol on Reinforcement Processing in the Risky Decision-Making of Young Healthy Adults

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