Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 26, Issue 18, Pages 4901-4907Publisher
SOC NEUROSCIENCE
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3554-05.2006
Keywords
THC; reward; locomotion; ventral tegmental area; nucleus accumbens; self-administration
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The recent findings that (Delta 9)tetrahydrocannabinol ((THC)-T-Delta 9), the active agent in marijuana and hashish, (1) is self-administered intravenously, (2) potentiates the rewarding effects of electrical brain stimulation, and (3) can establish conditioned place preferences in laboratory animals, suggest that these drugs activate biologically primitive brain reward mechanisms. Here, we identify two chemical trigger zones for stimulant and rewarding actions of (THC)-T-Delta 9. Microinjections of (THC)-T-Delta 9 into the posterior ventral tegmental area (VTA) or into the shell of the nucleus accumbens (NAS) increased locomotion, and rats learned to lever-press for injections of (THC)-T-Delta 9 into each of these regions. Substitution of vehicle for drug or treatment with a cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist caused response cessation. Microinjections of (THC)-T-Delta 9 into the posterior VTA and into the posterior shell of NAS established conditioned place preferences. Injections into the core of the NAS, the anterior VTA, or dorsal to the VTA were ineffective. These findings link the sites of rewarding action of (THC)-T-Delta 9 to brain regions where such drugs as amphetamines, cocaine, heroin, and nicotine are also thought to have their sites of rewarding action.
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