Adolescent THC Exposure Causes Enduring Prefrontal Cortical Disruption of GABAergic Inhibition and Dysregulation of Sub-Cortical Dopamine Function.

ABSTRACT: Chronic adolescent marijuana use has been linked to the later development of psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia. GABAergic hypofunction in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is a cardinal pathological feature of schizophrenia and may be a mechanism by which the PFC loses its ability to regulate sub-cortical dopamine (DA) resulting in schizophrenia-like neuropsychopathology. In the present study, we exposed adolescent rats to Δ-9-tetra-hydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component in marijuana. At adulthood, we characterized the functionality of PFC GABAergic neurotransmission and its regulation of sub-cortical DA function using molecular, behavioral and in-vivo electrophysiological analyses. Our findings revealed a persistent attenuation of PFC GABAergic function combined with a hyper

SUBMITTER: Renard J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5595795 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature