Marijuana is known to affect learning and memory in humans, and cannabinoid
s block long-term potentiation in the hippocampus, a model for the synaptic
changes that are believed to underlie memory at the cellular level. We hav
e now examined the physiological properties of the Schaffer collateral-CA1
synapses in mutant mice in which the CB1 receptor gene has been invalidated
and found that these animals exhibit a half-larger long-term potentiation
than wild-type controls. Other properties of these synapses, such as paired
-pulse facilitation, remained unchanged. This indicates that disrupting CB1
receptor-mediated neurotransmission at the genome level produces mutant mi
ce with an enhanced capacity to strengthen synaptic connections in a brain
region crucial for memory formation. (C) 1999 IBRO, Published by Elsevier S
cience Ltd.