AUTHOR=Lucas Luz Waldo , Santos-Silva Mateus , Cardoso Patrick Bruno , Assad Nadyme , Moraes Edinaldo Rogério da Silva , Grisólia Alan Barroso Araújo , Braga Danielle Valente , Leão Luana Ketlen Reis , Moraes Suellen Alessandra Soares de , Passos Adelaide da Conceição , Batista Evander de Jesus Oliveira , Gouveia Amauri , Oliveira Karen R. H. Matos , Herculano Anderson Manoel TITLE=Putative Activation of the CB1 Cannabinoid Receptors Prevents Anxiety-Like Behavior, Oxidative Stress, and GABA Decrease in the Brain of Zebrafish Submitted to Acute Restraint Stress JOURNAL=Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience VOLUME=14 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/behavioral-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2020.598812 DOI=10.3389/fnbeh.2020.598812 ISSN=1662-5153 ABSTRACT=

Anxiety disorder is a well-recognized condition observed in subjects submitted to acute stress. Although the brain mechanisms underlying this disorder remain unclear, the available evidence indicates that oxidative stress and GABAergic dysfunction mediate the generation of stress-induced anxiety. Cannabinoids are known to be efficient modulators of behavior, given that the activation of the cannabinoid receptors type-1 (CB1 receptors) induces anxiolytic-like effects in animal models. In the present study, we aimed to describe the effects of the stimulation of the CB1 receptors on anxiety-like behavior, oxidative stress, and the GABA content of the brains of zebrafish submitted to acute restraint stress (ARS). The animals submitted to the ARS protocol presented evident anxiety-like behavior with increased lipid peroxidation in the brain tissue. The evaluation of the levels of GABA in the zebrafish telencephalon presented decreased levels of GABA in the ARS group in comparison with the control. Treatment with ACEA, a specific CB1 receptor agonist, prevented ARS-induced anxiety-like behavior and oxidative stress in the zebrafish brain. ACEA treatment also prevented a decrease in GABA in the telencephalon of the animals submitted to the ARS protocol. Overall, these preclinical data strongly suggest that the CB1 receptors represent a potential target for the development of the treatment of anxiety disorders elicited by acute stress.