Effects of adolescent cannabinoid exposure on the development of mesocorticolimbic dopamine circuitry

• Grant number: 19/23286-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2020
• Effective date (End): February 28, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - Neuropsychopharmacology
• Principal Investigator: Fabio Cardoso Cruz
• Grantee: Sheila Antonagi Engi
• Supervisor: Joseph Cheer
• Research place: University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 16/18701-3 - Cannabidiol treatment in behaviours related to ethanol addiction: in vitro and in vivo studies, BP.PD

Abstract

Initiation of drug use during adolescence is a strong predictor of both the incidence and severity of addiction throughout the lifespan. Among adolescents, cannabis is the most commonly abused illicit drug, and excessive use of cannabinoids in this population is associated with the development of psychiatric conditions, including drug addiction. Adolescence is a critical period for the refinement and organization of neuronal connectivity, especially within the mesocorticolimbic dopamine circuity. Previous investigations have shown that exposure to high doses of amphetamine in early adolescence (PND21-32) disrupts the development of mesocorticolimbic dopamine connectivity, leading to alterations in cognitive processing and drug seeking in adulthood. Importantly, this effect is mediated by amphetamine-induced downregulation of the guidance cue receptor gene (Dcc) in ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons. DCC receptors orchestrate the development of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system in adolescence by determining the spatiotemporal targeting of dopamine axons to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Here, we examine whether exposure to the synthetic cannabinoid-1/2 receptor agonist WIN-55,212-2 (WIN) in adolescence regulates Dcc mRNA expression in the VTA and induces, in turn, adult alterations in cocaine-related behaviors and in dopamine function in adulthood - using optical fiber and simultaneous recording of NAc phasic dopamine release by fiber photometry. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ENGI, SHEILA A.; BEEBE, ERIN J.; AYVAZIAN, VICTORIA M.; CRUZ, FABIO C.; CHEER, JOSEPH F.; WENZEL, JENNIFER M.; ZLEBNIK, NATALIE E.. Cocaine-induced increases in motivation require 2-arachidonoylglycerol mobilization and CB1 receptor activation in the ventral tegmental area. Neuropharmacology, v. 193, AUG 1 2021. (19/23286-3)