THE EFFECT OF INTRAVENOUS ADMINISTRATION OF DELTA-9-TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL ON THE ACTIVITY OF A10 DOPAMINE NEURONS RECORDED IN-VIVO IN ANESTHETIZED RATS

In this pilot study, we examined the effect of the intravenous adminis tration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on the activity of spont aneously active A10 dopamine (DA) neurons of anesthetized, male albino rats, This was accomplished using the technique of in vivo extracellu lar single-unit recording, The administration of THC (0.05-1.6 mg/kg i ,v,) did not significantly alter either the basal firing rate or the f iring pattern of spontaneously active A10 DA neurons compared to vehic le controls. Our findings suggest that, unlike a number of drugs of ab use, THC does not alter the activity of A10 DA neurons and that the pr eviously reported THC-induced increase in brain DA levels is not due t o its action on firing rate or pattern in A10 DA neurons.