1. Further studies of the aggressive behavior induced by delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol in REM sleep-deprived rats.
- Author
-
Carlini EA
- Subjects
- Aggression physiology, Amphetamine pharmacology, Animals, Apomorphine pharmacology, Grooming, Humans, Lysergic Acid Diethylamide pharmacology, Male, Pentobarbital pharmacology, Posture, Rats, Social Dominance, Vocalization, Animal drug effects, Vocalization, Animal physiology, Aggression drug effects, Dronabinol pharmacology, Sleep Deprivation, Sleep, REM physiology
- Abstract
The aggressive behavior induced by delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol in pairs of REM sleep-deprived rats was studied in five experiments by measuring dominant and submissive behavioral patterns. When 2 REM-deprived rats received delta9-THC, one of the animals displayed very aggressive postures, while its partner assumed incomplete defensive postures. The intensity of these behavioral postures was dose-dependent. In pairs composed of one REM-deprived rat injected with delta9-THC and one normal or one REM-deprived partner injected with control solution the deprived/drugged rat showed an aggressive posture and catatonia, or a strikingly bizarre behavior, while the control partner displayed typical defensive postures. The behavioral alterations induced in REM-deprived rats by amphetamine, LSD-25, and pentobarbital failed to provoke defense postures in the normal rats paired with them; however, apomorphine partially mimicked the delta9-THC-effects. It is concluded that in REM-deprived rats delta9-THC not only provokes aggressive behavior but also impairs the defensive-submissive behavioral patterns.
- Published
- 1977
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