@article{ref1,
title="Chronic exposure to cannabinoids during adolescence causes long-lasting behavioral deficits in adult mice",
journal="Addiction biology",
year="2017",
author="Tomas-Roig, J. and Benito, E. and Agis-Balboa, R. C. and Piscitelli, F. and Hoyer-Fender, S. and Di Marzo, V. and Havemann-Reinecke, U.",
volume="22",
number="6",
pages="1778-1789",
abstract="Regular use of marijuana during adolescence enhances the risk of long-lasting neurobiological changes in adulthood. The present study was aimed at assessing the effect of long-term administration of the synthetic cannabinoid WIN55212.2 during adolescence in young adult mice. Adolescent mice aged 5  weeks were subjected daily to the pharmacological action of WIN55212.2 for 3 weeks and were then left undisturbed in their home cage for a 5-week period and finally evaluated by behavioral testing. Mice that received the drug during adolescence showed memory impairment in the Morris water maze, as well as a dose-dependent memory impairment in fear conditioning. In addition, the administration of 3 mg/kg WIN55212.2 in adolescence increased adult hippocampal AEA levels and promoted DNA hypermethylation at the intragenic region of the intracellular signaling modulator Rgs7, which was accompanied by a lower rate of mRNA transcription of this gene, suggesting a potential causal relation. Although the concrete mechanisms underlying the behavioral observations remain to be elucidated, we demonstrate that long-term administration of 3 mg/kg of WIN during adolescence leads to increased endocannabinoid levels and altered Rgs7 expression in adulthood and establish a potential link to epigenetic changes.<br><br>© 2016 The Authors Addiction Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1355-6215",
doi="10.1111/adb.12446",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/adb.12446"
}