Previous results from our group showed that CBD injection into the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) attenuates conditioned aversive responses. The aim of this study was to further investigate the role of this region on the anxiolytic effects of the CBD. Moreover, considering that CBD can activate 5-HT1A receptors, we also verified a possible involvement of these receptors in those effects.

Male Wistar rats received injections of CBD (15, 30, or 60 nmol) into the BNST and were exposed

to the elevated plus-maze (EPM) or to the Vogel conflict test (VCT), two widely used animal models of anxiety.

CBD increased open arms exploration in the EPM as well as the number of punished licks in the VCT, suggesting an anxiolytic-like effect. The drug did not change the number of entries into the enclosed arms of the EPM nor interfered with water consumption or VX-809 in vivo Selleckchem S63845 nociceptive threshold, discarding potential confounding factors in the two tests. Moreover, pretreatment with the 5-HT1A receptor antagonist WAY100635 (0.37 nmol) blocked the effects of CBD in both models.

These results give further support to the proposal that BNST is involved in the anxiolytic-like effects

of CBD observed after systemic administration, probably by facilitating local 5-HT1A receptor-mediated neurotransmission.”
“Many ectotherms Angiogenesis inhibitor thermoregulate by choosing environmental temperatures that maximize diverse performance traits, including fitness. For this reason, physiological ecologists have measured preferred temperatures of diverse ectotherms for nearly a century. Thermal preference is usually measured by observing organism distributions on laboratory thermal gradients. This approach is appropriate for large ectotherms which have sufficient thermal inertia to decouple body temperatures from gradient temperatures. However, body temperatures and therefore speeds of movement of small ectotherms will closely track gradient temperature, making it difficult to distinguish between thermal

preference and thermal dependence of movement. Here we develop and demonstrate the use of a patch model to derive the expected thermal gradient distribution given only the thermal dependence of movement. Comparison of this null distribution with the observed gradient distribution reveals thermal preference of small ectotherms. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Indirect-acting serotonin (5-HT) receptor agonists (e.g., selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitors [SSRI]) stimulate multiple 5-HT receptors, although the role of particular receptors as well as interaction(s) among different receptors in the therapeutic effects of SSRIs is not fully understood.

Relatively few studies have systematically examined direct-acting agonists in combination.