title: Cannabinoid and cholinergic systems interact during performance of a short-term memory task in the rat.
abstract: It is now well established that cannabinoid agonists such as Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), anandamide, and WIN 55,212-2 (WIN-2) produce potent and specific deficits in working memory (WM)/short-term memory (STM) tasks in rodents. Although mediated through activation of CB1 receptors located in memory-related brain regions such as the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, these may, in part, be due to a reduction in acetylcholine release (i.e., cholinergic hypofunction). To determine the interaction between cannabinoid and cholinergic systems, we exposed rats treated with WIN-2 or cholinergic drugs to a hippocampal-dependent delayed nonmatch to sample (DNMS) task to study STM, and recorded hippocampal single-unit activity in vivo. WIN-2 induced significant deficits in DNMS performance and reduced the average firing and bursting rates of hippocampal principal cells through a CB1 receptor-mediated mechanism. Rivastigmine, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, reversed these STM deficits and normalized hippocampal discharge rates. Effects were specific to 1 mg/kg WIN-2 as rivastigmine failed to reverse the behavioral and physiological deficits that were observed in the presence of MK-801, an NMDA receptor antagonist. This supports the notion that cannabinoid-modulated cholinergic activity is a mechanism underlying the performance deficits in DNMS. Whether deficits are due to reduced nicotinic or muscarinic receptor activation, or both, awaits further analysis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157-1083, USA.
authors.forename: Anushka V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Goonawardena
authors.forename: Lianne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Hampson
authors.forename: Gernot
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Riedel
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism*; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D048588:Benzoxazines / Q000494:pharmacology; D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000378:metabolism*; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects*; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009025:Morpholines / Q000494:pharmacology; D009281:Naphthalenes / Q000494:pharmacology; D048448:Phenylcarbamates / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D020239:Receptor Cross-Talk / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D043884:Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1 / Q000502:physiology; D000068836:Rivastigmine
chemical_list: D048588:Benzoxazines; D002186:Cannabinoids; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D009025:Morpholines; D009281:Naphthalenes; D048448:Phenylcarbamates; D043884:Receptor, Cannabinoid, CB1; C070417:(3R)-((2,3-dihydro-5-methyl-3-((4-morpholinyl)methyl)pyrrolo-(1,2,3-de)-1,4-benzoxazin-6-yl)(1-naphthalenyl))methanone; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase; D000109:Acetylcholine; D000068836:Rivastigmine