Chronic cannabis exposure can lead to cerebellar dysfunction in humans, but the neurobiological mechanisms involved remain incompletely understood. Here, we found that in mice, subchronic administration of the psychoactive component of cannabis, delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), activated cerebellar microglia and increased the expression of neuroinflammatory markers, including IL-1β. This neuroinflammatory phenotype correlated with deficits in cerebellar conditioned learning and fine motor coordination. The neuroinflammatory phenotype was readily detectable in the cerebellum of mice with global loss of the CB1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1R, Cb1 -/-mice) and in mice lacking CB1R in the cerebellar parallel fibers, suggesting that CB1R downregulation in the cerebellar molecular layer plays a key role in THC-induced cerebellar deficits. Expression of CB2 cannabinoid receptor (CB2R) and Il1b mRNA was increased under neuroinflammatory conditions in activated CD11b-positive microglial cells. Furthermore, administration of the immunosuppressant minocycline or an inhibitor of IL-1β receptor signaling prevented the deficits in cerebellar function in Cb1 -/-and THC-withdrawn mice. Our results suggest that cerebellar microglial activation plays a crucial role in the cerebellar deficits induced by repeated cannabis exposure.

In the hippocampus, a functional role of dopamine D1 receptors (D1R) in synaptic plasticity and memory processes has been suggested by electrophysiological and pharmacological studies. However, comprehension of their function remains elusive due to the lack of knowledge on the precise localization of D1R expression among the diversity of interneuron populations. Using BAC transgenic mice expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein under the control of D1R promoter, we examined the molecular identity of D1R-containing neurons within the CA1 subfield of the dorsal hippocampus. In agreement with previous findings, our analysis revealed that these neurons are essentially GABAergic interneurons, which express several neurochemical markers, including calcium-binding proteins, neuropeptides, and receptors among others. Finally, by using different tools comprising cell type-specific isolation of mRNAs bound to tagged-ribosomes, we provide solid data indicating that D1R is present in a large proportion of interneurons expressing dopamine D2 receptors. Altogether, our study indicates that D1Rs are expressed by different classes of interneurons in all layers examined and not by pyramidal cells, suggesting that CA1 D1R mostly acts via modulation of GABAergic interneurons.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00429-016-1314-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Palatability enhances food intake by hedonic mechanisms that prevail over caloric necessities. Different studies have demonstrated the role of endogenous cannabinoids in the mesocorticolimbic system in controlling food hedonic value and consumption. We hypothesize that the endogenous cannabinoid system could also be involved in the development of food-induced behavioral alterations, such as food-seeking and binge-eating, by a mechanism that requires neuroplastic changes in the brain reward pathway. For this purpose, we evaluated the role of the CB1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1-R) in the behavioral and neuroplastic changes induced by operant training for standard, highly caloric or highly palatable isocaloric food using different genetics, viral and pharmacological approaches. Neuroplasticity was evaluated by measuring changes in dendritic spine density in neurons previously labeled with the dye DiI. Only operant training to obtain highly palatable isocaloric food induced neuroplastic changes in neurons of the nucleus accumbens shell and prefrontal cortex that were associated to changes in food-seeking behavior. These behavioral and neuroplastic modifications induced by highly palatable isocaloric food were dependent on the activity of the CB1-R. Neuroplastic changes induced by highly palatable isocaloric food are similar to those produced by some drugs of abuse and may be crucial in the alteration of food-seeking behavior leading to overweight and obesity.

Stressful events can generate emotional memories linked to the traumatic incident, but they also can impair the formation of nonemotional memories. Although the impact of stress on emotional memories is well studied, much less is known about the influence of the emotional state on the formation of nonemotional memories. We used the novel object-recognition task as a model of nonemotional memory in mice to investigate the underlying mechanism of the deleterious effect of stress on memory consolidation. Systemic, hippocampal, and peripheral blockade of cannabinoid type-1 (CB1) receptors abolished the stress-induced memory impairment. Genetic deletion and rescue of CB1 receptors in specific cell types revealed that the CB1 receptor population specifically in dopamine β-hydroxylase (DBH)-expressing cells is both necessary and sufficient for stressinduced impairment of memory consolidation, but CB1 receptors present in other neuronal populations are not involved. Strikingly, pharmacological manipulations in mice expressing CB1 receptors exclusively in DBH + cells revealed that both hippocampal and peripheral receptors mediate the impact of stress on memory consolidation. Thus, CB1 receptors on adrenergic and noradrenergic cells provide previously unrecognized cross-talk between central and peripheral mechanisms in the stress-dependent regulation of nonemotional memory consolidation, suggesting new potential avenues for the treatment of cognitive aspects on stress-related disorders. memory consolidation | stress response | cannabinoid receptor | endocannabinoid system | noradrenergic signaling M emory consolidation is sensitive to emotion-related manipulations after acquisition (1). However, the underlying neurobiological mechanisms are only partly understood. Emotions can contribute to memorizing important life events (1, 2); they can also impair memory consolidation (2). Specifically, emotional arousal caused by stress has been studied extensively in animal models and in humans, and it has been reported to produce both facilitation and impairment of memory (3-5). Most studies that investigated the neural mechanisms mediating the effects of stress have focused on emotional memories; the mechanisms underlying the effects of acute stress on nonemotional memories are less understood.Acute stressful stimuli activate the sympathetic-adrenal system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (6, 7). Increased activity in the sympathetic-adrenal system involves a rapid release of adrenaline and noradrenaline from adrenal chromaffin cells and sympathetic nerve terminals, respectively (7). Moreover, stress-induced activation of the HPA axis involves the synthesis and secretion of glucocorticoids (cortisol in humans and corticosterone in most rodents) from the adrenal cortex (8). Both animal and human studies have shown that these stress hormones have profound effects on cognition by acting on specific brain regions involved in the processing of emotional stimuli (1, 9-12).The endocannabinoid system is an endogenous neur...

The phosphorylation of the ribosomal protein S6 (rpS6) is widely used to track neuronal activity. Although it is generally assumed that rpS6 phosphorylation has a stimulatory effect on global protein synthesis in neurons, its exact biological function remains unknown. By using a phospho-deficient rpS6 knockin mouse model, we directly tested the role of phospho-rpS6 in mRNA translation, plasticity and behavior. The analysis of multiple brain areas shows for the first time that, in neurons, phospho-rpS6 is dispensable for overall protein synthesis. Instead, we found that phospho-rpS6 controls the translation of a subset of mRNAs in a specific brain region, the nucleus accumbens (Acb), but not in the dorsal striatum. We further show that rpS6 phospho-mutant mice display altered long-term potentiation (LTP) in the Acb and enhanced novelty-induced locomotion. Collectively, our findings suggest a previously unappreciated role of phospho-rpS6 in the physiology of the Acb, through the translation of a selective subclass of mRNAs, rather than the regulation of general protein synthesis.

Food palatability produces behavioral modifications that resemble those induced by drugs of abuse. Palatability-induced behavioral changes require both, the activation of the endogenous cannabinoid system, and changes in structural plasticity in neurons of the brain reward pathway. The ERK intracellular pathway is activated by CB1 receptors (CB1-R) and plays a crucial role in neuroplasticity. We investigated the activation of the ERK signaling cascade in the mesocorticolimbic system induced by operant training to obtain highly palatable isocaloric food and the involvement of the CB1-R in these responses. Using immunofluorescence techniques, we analyzed changes in ERK intracellular pathway activation in the mesocorticolimbic system of wild-type and CB1 knockout mice (CB1-/-) trained on an operant paradigm to obtain standard, highly caloric or highly palatable isocaloric food. Operant training for highly palatable isocaloric food, but not for standard or highly caloric food, produced a robust activation of the ERK signaling cascade in the same brain areas where this training modified structural plasticity. These changes induced by the operant training were absent in CB1-/-. We can conclude that the activation of the ERK pathway is associated to the neuroplasticity induced by operant training for highly palatable isocaloric food and might be involved in CB1-R mediated alterations in behavior and structural plasticity.

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Repeated psychostimulant exposure induces persistent gene expression modifications that contribute to enduring changes in striatal GABAergic spiny projecting neurons (SPNs). However, it remains unclear whether changes in the control of mRNA translation are required for the establishment of these durable modifications. Here we report that repeated exposure to D-amphetamine decreases global striatal mRNA translation. This effect is paralleled by an enhanced phosphorylation of the translation factors, eIF2α and eEF2, and by the concomitant increased translation of a subset of mRNAs, among which the mRNA encoding for the activity regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein, also known as activity regulated gene 3.1 (Arc/Arg3.1). The enrichment of Arc/Arg3.1 mRNA in the polysomal fraction is accompanied by a robust increase of Arc/Arg3.1 protein levels within the striatum. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that this increase occurred preferentially in D1R-expressing SPNs localized in striosome compartments. Our results suggest that the decreased global protein synthesis following repeated exposure to D-amphetamine favors the translation of a specific subset of mRNAs in the striatum.