β-Caryophyllene, a CB2 receptor agonist produces multiple behavioral changes relevant to anxiety and depression in mice

The endocannabinoid system in guarding against fear, anxiety and stress

“…As TRPV1 is expressed and functional in both GABAergic and glutamatergic neurons 23,69–72 , the analysis of conditional TRPV1-deficient mice will be important and might reveal a behavioural dichotomy similar to that observed with CB1R. Furthermore, CB2R has been implicated in the eCB-dependent regulation of anxiety-like behaviours 73,74 . However, owing to the enigmatic expression of this receptor in neurons (BOX 1), the mechanistic basis of these observations is far from being understood.…”

Nucleus accumbens lentiviral-mediated gain of function of the oxytocin receptor regulates anxiety- and ethanol-related behaviors in adult mice

“…Twenty-four hours after completion of the EPM test, the animals were tested for anxiety-related behavior and spontaneous locomotor activity using an OF test as described previously [40,[42][43][44]. In brief, each mouse was individually placed in one corner of a white open field arena (32 × 32 × 20 cm 3 ) with an 8 × 8 cm 2 area in the middle of the chamber defined as the center area.…”

“…The MBT was performed as described in previous studies from our laboratory [34,40,43] with minor modifications. In brief, the apparatus consisted of a Plexiglas cage containing 30 colored glass marbles (approximately 1 cm in diameter) distributed throughout the cage in six rows of five, on top of a 5 cm deep layer of sawdust.…”

β-Caryophyllene/Hydroxypropyl-β-Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complex Improves Cognitive Deficits in Rats with Vascular Dementia through the Cannabinoid Receptor Type 2 -Mediated Pathway

“…BCP was reported to be a CB2 selective agonist (Gertsch et al, 2008; Al Mansouri et al, 2014; Bahi et al, 2014), thus, it might elicit its neuroprotective effects by activating the CB2. The CB2, which was used to be known as the peripheral cannabinoid receptor type, was initially found in the immune system, but was recently detected in the central nervous system (Morgan et al, 2009; Lozovaya et al, 2011; Onaivi, 2011).…”