Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2020
Abstract
Chronic adolescent exposure to D9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component in marijuana, induces a schizophrenia-resembling phenotype in adulthood. Substantial evidence has suggested that schizophrenia is associated with a dysregulation of distinct brain regions, among which one of them is that of the hippocampal formation. In the present study, we used an integrative combination of behavioural assays and molecular analyses in a neurodevelopmental rodent model to demonstrate that hippocampal dysfunction, and a functional dissociation between the dorsal and ventral subregions, contributes to the emergence of psychotic-like symptoms of adolescent THC induced schizophrenia. We report that adolescent exposure to THC induces cognitive and affective disturbances characterized by impairments in spatial memory formation, onset of anxiety-like behaviours and alterations in receptor and neurotransmitter levels. These results implicate dysfunction in hippocampal signalling as a critical nexus point mediating THC-induced schizophrenic phenotypes. We anticipate that our results will pave the way for finding new neurochemical targets that therapeutical interventions can potentially alter to revert the impairments.