Reduction of the Behavioral Effects of delta(9)-Tetrahydrocannabinol by Hyperbaric Pressure.

摘要

Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol in doses of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 mg/kg was administered to rats under normal (1 ATA) and increased (3,5, and 7 times normal) atmospheric pressure. Behavior was maintained by a food-reinforced differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate (DRL) schedule. Dose-dependent decrements in performance were observed at the 1 ATA conditions, in which response rates increased and the well-established temporal discrimination disintegrated. Under the elevated pressure conditions, however, a reversal of behavioral toxicity occurred during which performance improved as a function of pressure. The behavioral disruptions occurring at the 5- and 7-ATA pressures were minimal compared with those occurring at 1 ATA under equivalent does of the drug. The present experiment has demonstrated that delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol produces significant behavioral changes at 1 ATA pressure, but when atmospheric pressure is increased the drug effects are reduced. (Author)