Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39190156›Full record

ArticlePsychopharmacology2025

Adolescent THC impacts on mPFC dopamine-mediated cognitive processes in male and female rats.

Maricela X Martinez, Vanessa Alizo Vera, Christina M Ruiz, Stan B Floresco, Stephen V Mahler

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Psychopharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Neural basis of adolescent THC-induced potentiation of opioid responses later in life.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Maricela X MartinezDepartment of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, 1132 McGaugh Hall, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA. maricexm@uci.edu.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9540-2437
Vanessa Alizo VeraDepartment of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, 1132 McGaugh Hall, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
Christina M RuizDepartment of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, 1132 McGaugh Hall, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
Stan B FlorescoDepartment of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
Stephen V MahlerDepartment of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, 1132 McGaugh Hall, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA. mahlers@uci.edu.

Funding

Impact of Cannabinoid Across the Lifespan (ICAL)P50DA044118 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI Stephen Vincent Mahler · 2018 to 2026
$18.2M
Dynamic epigenomic landscape of opioid abuse following early-life adversityU01DA053826 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI Tallie Z. Baram, CHRISTIE D FOWLER · 2022 to 2026
$3.4M
On circuit mechanisms of reward behaviors after early-life adversityRF1MH132680 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI BARAM, TALLIE Z., CHEN, YUNCAI · 2025 to 2025
$2.1M
Ventral Pallidum Circuits Underlying Preclinical Models of Opioid AddictionR01DA055849 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI Stephen Vincent Mahler · 2023 to 2026
$1.4M
On circuit mechanisms of reward behaviors after early-life adversityR01MH132680 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI BARAM, TALLIE Z., CHEN, YUNCAI · 2023 to 2024
$1.3M
CIHR PJT-162444National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program DGE-1839285Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada RGPIN-2018-04295NIDA NIH HHS P50 DA044118NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA055849NIDA NIH HHS U01 DA053826NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH132680NIMH NIH HHS RF1 MH132680
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

rationaleAdolescent cannabis use is linked to later-life changes in cognition, learning, and memory. Rodent experimental studies suggest Δ

objectiveWe determined how 14 daily THC injections (5 mg/kg) during adolescence persistently impacts medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) dopamine-dependent cognition.

methodsIn adult Long Evans rats treated as adolescents with THC (AdoTHC), we quantify performance on two mPFC dopamine-dependent reward-based tasks-strategy set shifting and probabilistic discounting. We also determined how acute dopamine augmentation with amphetamine (0, 0.25, 0.5 mg/kg), or specific chemogenetic stimulation of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons and their projections to mPFC impact probabilistic discounting.

resultsAdoTHC sex-dependently impacts acquisition of cue-guided instrumental reward seeking, but has minimal effects on set-shifting or probabilistic discounting in either sex. When we challenged dopamine circuits acutely with amphetamine during probabilistic discounting, we found reduced discounting of improbable reward options, with AdoTHC rats being more sensitive to these effects than controls. In contrast, neither acute chemogenetic stimulation of VTA dopamine neurons nor pathway-specific chemogenetic stimulation of their projection to mPFC impacted probabilistic discounting in control rats, although stimulation of this cortical dopamine projection slightly disrupted choices in AdoTHC rats.

conclusionsThese studies confirm a marked specificity in the cognitive processes impacted by AdoTHC exposure. They also suggest that some persistent AdoTHC effects may alter amphetamine-induced cognitive changes in a manner independent of VTA dopamine neurons or their projections to mPFC.

Indexed as

CognitionDopamineDronabinolPrefrontal CortexAmphetamineAnimalsConditioning, OperantDopaminergic NeuronsDose-Response Relationship, DrugFemaleMaleRatsRats, Long-EvansRewardVentral Tegmental AreaAmphetamineDopamineDronabinolChemogeneticsCognitionDopamineMedial prefrontal cortexTHCVentral tegmental area

Identifiers

PMID39190156
PMCPMC12143183

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.