Cannabinoid and Heroin Activation of Mesolimbic Dopamine Transmission by a Common µ 1 Opioid Receptor Mechanism
- 27 June 1997
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 276 (5321) , 2048-2050
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.276.5321.2048
Abstract
The effects of the active ingredient of Cannabis , Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ 9 -THC), and of the highly addictive drug heroin on in vivo dopamine transmission in the nucleus accumbens were compared in Sprague-Dawley rats by brain microdialysis. Δ 9 -THC and heroin increased extracellular dopamine concentrations selectively in the shell of the nucleus accumbens; these effects were mimicked by the synthetic cannabinoid agonist WIN55212-2. SR141716A, an antagonist of central cannabinoid receptors, prevented the effects of Δ 9 -THC but not those of heroin. Naloxone, a generic opioid antagonist, administered systemically, or naloxonazine, an antagonist of μ 1 opioid receptors, infused into the ventral tegmentum, prevented the action of cannabinoids and heroin on dopamine transmission. Thus, Δ 9 -THC and heroin exert similar effects on mesolimbic dopamine transmission through a common μ 1 opioid receptor mechanism located in the ventral mesencephalic tegmentum.Keywords
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