Abstract
δ 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and chlordiazepoxide (CDP) were studied for their effects upon acquisition, performance, state-dependent learning and reciprocal substitution in mice. Over a wide dose range, CDP had no effect while THC had a biphasic effect (depression at low doses and facilitation at high doses) on avoidance acquisition. Both agents elicited evidence for state-dependent learning; mice trained under drugged conditions failed to transfer learning to the non-drugged state. In contrast, performance decrements occurred only after high doses (40 mg/kg) of each were given to avoidance trained mice. Administration of CDP facilitated avoidance performance in drug naive mice after doses of 1.25 mg/kg and above. THC failed to prevent learning deficits in CDP-trained subjects. In contrast, CDP prevented avoidance deficits after doses of 5 mg/kg and above in THC-trained subjects. These results suggest that an asymmetrical dissociation exists between THC and CDP or between either agent and saline.
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Goldberg, M.E., Hefner, M.A., Robichaud, R.C. et al. Effects of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and chlordiazepoxide (CDP) on state-dependent learning: evidence for asymmetrical dissociation. Psychopharmacologia 30, 173–184 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421432
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421432