Role of the endocannabinoid and endovanilloid systems in an animal model of schizophrenia-related emotional processing/cognitive deficit.

Role of the endocannabinoid and endovanilloid systems in an animal model of schizophrenia-related emotional processing/cognitive deficit. Neuropharmacology. 2019 May 16;: Authors: Almeida V, Levin R, Peres FF, Suiama MA, Vendramini AM, Santos CM, Silva ND, Zuardi AW, Hallak JEC, Crippa JA, Abílio VC Abstract Studies suggest that the endocannabinoid and endovanilloid systems are implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR) strain displays impaired contextual fear conditioning (CFC) attenuated by antipsychotic drugs and worsened by pro-psychotic manipulations. Therefore, SHR strain is used to study emotional processing/associative learning impairments associated with schizophrenia and effects of potential antipsychotic drugs. Here, we evaluated the expression of CB1 and TRPV1 receptors in some brain regions related to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. We also assessed the effects of drugs that act on the endocannabinoid/endovanilloid systems on the CFC task in SHRs and control animals (Wistar rats - WRs). The following drugs were used: AM404 (anandamide uptake/metabolism inhibitor), WIN55-212,2 (non-selective CB1 agonist), capsaicin (TRPV1 agonist), and capsazepine (TRPV1 antagonist). SHRs displayed increased CB1 expression in prelimbic cortex and cingulate cortex area 1 and in CA3 region of the dorsal hippocampus. Conversely, SHRs exhibited decreases in TRPV1 expression in prelimbi...
Source: Neuropharmacology - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: Neuropharmacology Source Type: research