“Schizophrenia is a serious mental health disorder characterized by several behavioral and biochemicel abnormalities.
In a previous study we have shown that mu-opioid (MOP) receptor signaling is impaired in specific brain regions of our three-hit animal model of schizophrenia. Since the cannabinoid system is significantly influenced in schizophrenic patients, in the present work we investigated cannabinoid (CB) receptor binding and G-protein activation in cortical, subcortical and cerebellar regions of control and ‘schizophrenic’ rats.
Taken together, in all three brain areas of model rats both cannabinoid receptor binding and cannabinoid agonist-mediated G-protein activation were regularly decreased.
Our results revealed that besides the opioids, the endocannabinoid – cannabis receptor system also shows impairment in our rat model, increasing its face validity and translational utility.”