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Cannabinoid Cb1 Transmission In The Mesolimbic Reward Pathway, Tasha Ahmad

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Cannabinoid CB1 receptor (CB1R) transmission within the mesocorticolimbic system plays an important role in forming associative memories, and processing both positive and negative experiences. Opiates generally produce potent rewarding effects and previous evidence suggests that CB1 transmission may modulate the neural reward circuitry involved in opiate reward processing. The ventral tegmental area (VTA), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), basolateral amygdala (BLA), and Nucleus Accumbens (NA) are all implicated in opiate-reward processing, contain high levels of CB1 receptors, and are all modulated by dopamine (DA). Although, CB1 transmission within these areas has been heavily implicated in associative memory and learning, the potential …