Three-day delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) exposure eliminates long-term depression in ventral tegmental area of young, but not adult mice.
Journal of cannabis research May 31, 2025 Michael Von Gunten, Seth Hoffman, Addison Smartt et al.
In mice, three days of THC exposure eliminates a specific form of synaptic plasticity—CB1-dependent long-term depression (LTD)—in GABA neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in young but not adult animals. This age-dependent effect may help explain why adolescents are more sensitive to THC-induced changes in brain reward circuits. Quantitative PCR showed no THC-induced changes in mRNA levels for either age group, though several differences existed between young and adult control mice.