• Cristina Cadoni, Nicola Simola, Elena Espa, Sandro Fenu, and Gaetano Di Chiara.
• Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council of Italy, Italy; National Institute of Neuroscience, University of Cagliari, Italy; Centre of Excellence 'Neurobiology of Dependence', University of Cagliari, Italy.
• Addict Biol. 2015 Jan 1; 20 (1): 132-42.

AbstractAdolescent Cannabis exposure has been hypothesized to act as a gateway to opiate abuse. In order to investigate the role of genetic background in cannabinoid-opiate interactions, we studied the effect of Δ(9) -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) exposure of adolescent Lewis and Fischer 344 rats on the responsiveness of accumbens shell and core dopamine (DA), as monitored by microdialysis, to THC and heroin at adulthood. Heroin reward and reinstatement by heroin priming were studied by conditioned place preference (CPP) and cognitive and emotional functions by object recognition, Y maze and elevated plus maze paradigms. THC stimulated shell DA in Lewis but not in Fischer 344 rats. Adolescent THC exposure potentiated DA stimulant effects of heroin in the shell and core of Lewis and only in the core of Fischer 344 rats. Control Lewis rats developed stronger CPP to heroin and resistance to extinction compared with Fischer 344 strain. In Lewis rats, THC exposure did not affect heroin CPP but potentiated the effect of heroin priming. In Fischer 344 rats, THC exposure increased heroin CPP and made it resistant to extinction. Lewis rats showed seeking reactions during extinction and hedonic reactions in response to heroin priming. Moreover, adolescent THC exposure affected emotional function only in Lewis rats. These observations suggest that long-term effects of Cannabis exposure on heroin addictive liability and emotionality are dependent on individual genetic background. © 2013 Society for the Study of Addiction.

33 keywords...

hide…