Corticotrophin and corticosterone secretion following delta 1-Tetrahydrocannabinol, in intact and in hypothalamic deafferentated male rats.

Adult male rats, either intact (N) or bearing complete hypothalamic deafferentations (CHD), were injected with delta 1-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC: 5 mg/kg BW, IP). Forty-five minutes later, they were decapitated and trunk blood was collected for serum ACTH and corticosterone (CS) determinations. In the N animals, serum levels of both ACTH and CS were markedly elevated in the drug-treated, as compared to the vehicle-treated group (approximately 8-fold and 10-fold, respectively). In CHD rats, on the contrary, THC administration did not significantly alter serum concentrations of either ACTH or CS. These results demonstrate (1) that acute treatment with THC stimulates the secretion of ACTH as well as of CS; and (2) that extrahypothalamic sites and/or neural pathways mediate this effect.