Prenatal Δ⁹-Tetrahydrocannabinol Exposure in Males Leads to Motivational Disturbances Related to Striatal Epigenetic Dysregulation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cannabis remains one of the most widely abused drugs during pregnancy. In utero exposure to its principal psychoactive component, Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), can result in long-term neuropsychiatric risk for the progeny. This study investigated epigenetic signatures underlying these enduring consequences.

Methods

Rat dams were exposed daily to THC (0.15 mg/kg) during pregnancy, and adult male offspring were examined for reward and depressive-like behavioral endophenotypes. Using unbiased sequencing approaches, we explored transcriptional and epigenetic profiles in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a brain area central to reward and emotional processing. An in vitro CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) activation model coupled

SUBMITTER: Ellis RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8957623 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature