The antioxidant N-acetylcysteine prevents cortical neuropathological phenotypes caused by adolescent Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol exposure in male rats.
Translational psychiatry October 6, 2025 Hanna J Szkudlarek, Rajkamalpreet Singh Mann, Krystyna Wieczerzak et al. 1 citation
Adolescent exposure to THC, the main psychoactive component of cannabis, increases the risk of later neuropsychiatric symptoms, and the medial prefrontal cortex is a key brain region involved. The antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) prevented cognitive, synaptic, neuronal, and neurochemical deficits caused by chronic adolescent THC exposure in a rodent model. This suggests that THC-induced oxidative stress contributes to neuropsychiatric risk and identifies NAC as a potential preventive treatment.