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The Impact of Cannabinoids on Motor Activity and Neurochemical Correlates

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In Vivo Neuropharmacology and Neurophysiology

Part of the book series: Neuromethods ((NM,volume 121))

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Abstract

Cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system are implicated in the regulation of various physiological processes, including motivational and reward-related behavior as well as affective and motoric responses. Although the literature is vast, methodological variations in studies can sometimes hinder our understanding of these regulatory effects.

In particular, the impact of cannabinoids on motor activity has to be focused on a variety of factors including drug dose, experimental setting (habituated versus non-habituated animals), and rat phenotype. In addition, the parallel study of the cannabinoid-induced effects on neurochemical correlates such as dopaminergic and glutamatergic indices adds essentially to the understanding of the implication of cannabinoids on physiological procedures. The use of both ex vivo tissue extraction and in vivo microdialysis methods allow for a more robust, comparison-based approach to the study of the cannabinoid-induced neurochemical profile.

In general, our behavioral studies have shown that high doses of cannabinoids impair the expression of novelty-induced behavior, while low doses disrupt behavioral habituation resulting in increases in motor and exploratory activity. Our neurochemical findings have shown that cannabinoid treatment exerts excitatory effects on dopaminergic function, but both excitatory and inhibitory effects on glutamate neurotransmission that are more robust at higher doses. The overactivation, suppression, or dysregulation of these specific neurotransmitters in basal ganglia or corticolimbic structures have been associated with basal ganglia disorders, drug addiction, and related psychoses. Thus, the behavioral and neurochemical effects of cannabinoids in these distinct brain regions are of great importance for furthering our understanding of specific CNS disorders and their pathophysiology, as well as for approaching new therapeutic strategies.

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Acknowledgements

This research project was co-financed by EU-European Social Fund (75 %) and the Greek Secretariat of Research and Technology—GSRT (25 %) (PENED, O3ED768).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, 451 10, Greece

    Katerina Antoniou Ph.D., Foteini Delis & Nafsika Poulia

  2. Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Center for Clinical, Experimental Surgery and Translational Research, Biomedical Research Foundation Academy of Athens, 11527, Athens, Greece

    Alexia Polissidis

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  1. Katerina Antoniou Ph.D.
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  2. Alexia Polissidis
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  3. Foteini Delis
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Correspondence to Katerina Antoniou Ph.D. .

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  1. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

    Athineos Philippu

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Antoniou, K., Polissidis, A., Delis, F., Poulia, N. (2017). The Impact of Cannabinoids on Motor Activity and Neurochemical Correlates. In: Philippu, A. (eds) In Vivo Neuropharmacology and Neurophysiology. Neuromethods, vol 121. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6490-1_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6490-1_15

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