Stress During Gestation & Exposure to an Indirect Cannabinoid Agonist During Adolescence Alter Brain Metabolism in Mice

Rossella Canese¹, Simone Macr¹, Chiara Ceci¹, Emiliano Surrentino¹, Giovanni Laviola¹

Stress during gestation and access to cannabinoid compounds during adolescence regulate emotional responses in adulthood, potentially favouring the onset of emotional disturbances. Here we investigated such prenatal-peripubertal interaction in rodents by exposing pregnant mice to corticosterone in drinking water and their adolescent offspring to an indirect cannabinoid agonist (URB597). The consequences of these treatments were studied in adult offspring by in vivo 1H MRS and behavioural testing. Both factors persistently alter adult brain metabolism and anxiety-like behaviour. These results may inform research on the interaction between early stress and adolescent access to psychotropic drugs in the onset of emotional disturbances.