A recent study in which rats might self-administer cannabis vapor might provide an useful research study design for people.
With the legalization of cannabis in some nations and areas within the United States, examinations into its short- and long term-effects on humans have actually taken on a greater urgency.
Although it has actually proven difficult to construct animal research studies that produce behavioral data relevant to humans, a study from Washington State University’s (WSU) Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience system in Pullman claims to have done precisely that.
The recent research study found that rats exposed to marijuana vapor respond in much the same way as human beings who smoke cannabis do.
Ryan J. McLaughlin, a professor in WSU’s Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience system, is the research study’s senior author. The paper now appears in the Journal of Neuroscience
” It’s constantly hard to establish reliable cannabis-seeking behavior using animal designs. In this study, we have a clear and dependable reaction for marijuana by utilizing the really first self-administration model involving on-demand delivery of whole-plant marijuana vapor.”
— Prof. Ryan J. McLaughlin
The research required the building and construction of a habitat that permitted rats to self-administer cannabis. The plexiglass test chambers that Prof. McLaughlin and coworkers established provided stimuli and rewards equivalent with those found in the environment of a typical human user of marijuana.
Each chamber was equipped with two spigots, each of which would activate when a male Sprague Dawley rat placed its nose into the nose-poke port. One spigot released a 3 2nd puff of air, while the other released a similar puff of