Patel N A, Moldow R L, Patel J A, Wu G, Chang S L
Department of Biology, Seton Hall University, 400 South Orange Avenue, South Orange, NJ 07079, USA.
Brain Res. 1998 Jun 29;797(2):225-33. doi: 10.1016/s0006-8993(98)00364-3.
It is thought that the physiological actions of endogenous cannabinoid arachidonylethanolamide (AEA), as well as exogenous cannabinoids such as Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), are mediated by two subtypes of cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, which have recently been characterized. Injection of AEA leads to alterations in motor behavior and endocrine function. While these phenomena have been well characterized, the neuronal substrate of AEA's actions remains undetermined. In this study, FOS immunoreactivity (FOSir) was used to map rat brain nuclei that are responsive to a single intracerebroventricular injection of AEA. The results showed that FOSir was induced in several nuclei including the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), central nucleus of the amygdala (Ce), periaqueductal gray area (PAG), dentate gyrus in the hippocampus (Dg), paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVA), median preoptic nucleus (MnPO), periventricular nucleus (Pe), caudate putamen (CPU) and the ependymal lining of the ventricles. The pattern of activation identified correlates, in part, with the distribution of CB receptors. At the same time, a new subset of nuclei, without demonstrable CB receptors, have been shown to respond to an AEA challenge. Activation of these nuclei is consistent with the physiological effects of AEA. These findings provide valuable information on the response to AEA at the level of neuronal activation and provide the basis for a broader understanding of the possible role of CB receptors in the modulation of motor and endocrine function associated with the use of exogenous cannabinoids, such as marijuana.
人们认为，内源性大麻素花生四烯酸乙醇胺（AEA）以及外源性大麻素如Δ9-四氢大麻酚（THC）的生理作用是由最近已被鉴定的两种大麻素受体亚型CB1和CB2介导的。注射AEA会导致运动行为和内分泌功能的改变。虽然这些现象已得到充分表征，但AEA作用的神经元底物仍未确定。在本研究中，FOS免疫反应性（FOSir）被用于绘制对单次脑室内注射AEA有反应的大鼠脑核。结果表明，FOSir在几个核中被诱导，包括终纹床核（BNST）、下丘脑室旁核（PVN）、杏仁核中央核（Ce）、导水管周围灰质区（PAG）、海马齿状回（Dg）、丘脑室旁核（PVA）、视前正中核（MnPO）、室周核（Pe）、尾状壳核（CPU）以及脑室的室管膜衬里。所确定的激活模式部分与CB受体的分布相关。同时，已显示一组新的核，虽无明显的CB受体，但对AEA刺激有反应。这些核的激活与AEA的生理作用一致。这些发现为神经元激活水平上对AEA的反应提供了有价值的信息，并为更广泛地理解CB受体在调节与使用外源性大麻素（如大麻）相关的运动和内分泌功能中可能发挥的作用提供了基础。
