title: The effect of intravenous administration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on the activity of A10 dopamine neurons recorded in vivo in anesthetized rats.
abstract: In this pilot study, we examined the effect of the intravenous administration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on the activity of spontaneously active A10 dopamine (DA) neurons of anesthetized, male albino rats. This was accomplished using the technique of in vivo extracellular single-unit recording. The administration of THC (0.05-1.6 mg/kg i.v.) did not significantly alter either the basal firing rate or the firing pattern of spontaneously active A10 DA neurons compared to vehicle controls. Our findings suggest that, unlike a number of drugs of abuse, THC does not alter the activity of A10 DA neurons and that the previously reported THC-induced increase in brain DA levels is not due to its action on firing rate or pattern in A10 DA neurons.
authors.affiliation: Medical Department, Brookhaven National Laboratories, Upton, N.Y., USA.
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Gifford
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Ashby
mesh_terms: D000758:Anesthesia; D000818:Animals; D001058:Apomorphine / Q000494:pharmacology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology*; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D013759:Dronabinol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005110:Extracellular Space / Q000187:drug effects; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D013759:Dronabinol; D001058:Apomorphine; D004298:Dopamine