BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence suggests that the endocannabinoid system (ECS) is involved in modulating the rewarding effects of abused drugs. Recently, the cannabinoid receptor 2 ( @entity14651 ) was shown to be expressed in brain reward circuitry and is implicated in modulating the rewarding effects of @entity285 . METHODS: @entity14651 ligands and @entity14651 knockout (KO) @entity19 were used to assess @entity14651 involvement in @entity285 reward-related behavior in 2 well-established behavioral models: limited-access 2-bottle choice drinking and conditioned place preference (CPP). For the pharmacological studies, @entity19 received pretreatments of either vehicle, the @entity14651 agonist @entity26405 (10 and 20  mg/kg) or the @entity14651 antagonist @entity36054 (10 and 20  mg/kg) 30  minutes before behavioral testing. For the genetic studies, @entity14651 KO @entity19 were compared to @entity164 ( @entity164 ) littermate controls. RESULTS: @entity14651 KO @entity19 displayed increased magnitude of @entity285 -induced CPP compared to @entity164 @entity19 . Neither agonism nor antagonism of @entity14651 affected @entity285 intake or the expression of CPP, and antagonism of @entity14651 during CPP acquisition trials also did not affect CPP. CONCLUSIONS: The @entity14651 KO CPP data provide partial support for the hypothesis that @entity14651 Rs are involved in the modulation of @entity285 reward-related behaviors. However, pharmacological manipulation of @entity14651 Rs did not alter @entity285 's rewarding effects in the @entity285 -seeking models used here. These results highlight the importance of pharmacological validation of effects seen with lifetime KO models. Given the ongoing efforts toward medications development, future studies should continue to explore the role of the @entity14651 as a potential neurobiological target for the treatment of @entity285 use disorders.

Genetic Versus Pharmacological Assessment of the Role of Cannabinoid Type 2 Receptors in XXXX Reward-Related Behaviors.

@entity36054 :: ('MESH:C094023', 'Chemical') :: ['AM630'] @entity14651 :: ('12802(Tax:10090)', 'Gene') :: ['CB2', 'CB2R'] @entity19 :: ('10090', 'Species') :: ['mice'] @entity26405 :: ('MESH:C432747', 'Chemical') :: ['JWH-133'] @entity164 :: ('MESH:D017827', 'Disease') :: ['WT', 'wild-type'] @entity285 :: ('D000431', 'Chemical') :: ['alcohol']
@entity285 :: (D000431,Chemical) :: ['Alcohol']
