Effect of cannabinoids on the turnover rate of acetylcholine in rat hippocampus, striatum and cortex.
The effects of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta9-THC), the major psychoactive compound of marijuana, and cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive component, on the acetylcholine (ACh) concentration and the turnover rate of ACh (TRACh) have been studied in various regions of the rat brain. Neither delta9-THC doses from 0.2 to 10 mg/kg nor CBD (10 OR 20 MG/KG) alter the ACh concentration in the brain areas examined 30 min, after the intravenous injection. However, delta9-THC (doses from 0.2 to 10 mg/kg) causes a marked dose-related decrease in the TRACh in hippocampus whereas CBD is without effect in this brain region even when 20 mg/kg is given. Furthermore, high doses of delta9-THC (5 mg/kg) and CBD (20 mg/kg) that produce a significant decrease in the TRACh of striatum fail to change the TRACh in parietal cortex. The low doses of delta9-THC required to reduce hippocampal TRACh suggest that an action on these cholinergic mechanisms may play a role in the psychotomimetic activity of delta9-THC.
D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002185:Cannabidiol / Q000494:pharmacology; D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D013759:Dronabinol / Q000494:pharmacology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats
D002186:Cannabinoids; D002185:Cannabidiol; D013759:Dronabinol; D000109:Acetylcholine