Lake Forest College1, Department of Biology, Lake Forest, IL 60045 Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science2, Chicago Medical School, North Chicago, IL 60064
Adolescence is a period in development associated with risk behavior and novelty seeking. As an important structure of the brain that functions in working memory, reasoning, and impulse control, the natural course of development of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) can easily be altered by risk activities. Since many neural arrangements form during this period, drug experimentation is associated with an improper development of the PFC. Abnormal patterns of PFC inhibition in the adulthood of adolescent drug users are similar to PFC inhibition of schizophrenia patients. Although hippocampal glutamatergic transmission to the PFC can be interrupted through many pathways, little is known about the endocannabinoid pathway. To further understand the role of the endocannabinoid system’s role in altering proper brain development, the effect of adolescent exposure to CB1 receptor agonist on the development of adult cortical networks was examined. The impact of WIN exposure was measured using in vivo electrophysiology. WIN exposure elicited a disinhibited PFC network in the adolescent treatment group (PD35-40), this was not seen in adult treatment groups (PD75-80). Through the manipulation of the endocannabinoid system, the results of the investigation imply that a disinhibited state of the PFC in adulthood is in partial a result of the disruption of GABAergic transmission that facilitates proper neural development during adolescence.
[Abstract (DOCX)]