TY - JOUR
T1 - Cannabinoid and heroin activation of mesolimbic dopamine transmission by a common μ1 opioid receptor mechanism
AU - Tanda, Gianluigi
AU - Pontieri, Francesco E.
AU - Di Chiara, Gaetano
PY - 1997/6/27
Y1 - 1997/6/27
N2 - The effects of the active ingredient of Cannabis, Δ- tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-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. Δ9-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 Δ9-THC but not those of heroin. Naloxone, a generic opioid antagonist, administered systemically, or naloxonazine, an antagonist of μ1 opioid receptors, infused into the ventral tegmentum, prevented the action of cannabinoids and heroin on dopamine transmission. Thus, Δ9-THC and heroin exert similar effects on mesolimbic dopamine transmission through a common μ1 oploid receptor mechanism located in the ventral mesencephalic tegmentum.
AB - The effects of the active ingredient of Cannabis, Δ- tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-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. Δ9-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 Δ9-THC but not those of heroin. Naloxone, a generic opioid antagonist, administered systemically, or naloxonazine, an antagonist of μ1 opioid receptors, infused into the ventral tegmentum, prevented the action of cannabinoids and heroin on dopamine transmission. Thus, Δ9-THC and heroin exert similar effects on mesolimbic dopamine transmission through a common μ1 oploid receptor mechanism located in the ventral mesencephalic tegmentum.
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U2 - 10.1126/science.276.5321.2048
DO - 10.1126/science.276.5321.2048
M3 - Article
C2 - 9197269
AN - SCOPUS:0030761521
VL - 276
SP - 2048
EP - 2050
JO - Science
JF - Science
SN - 0036-8075
IS - 5321
ER -