Characterization of the behavioral effects and molecular biology of acute exposure to the synthetic cannabinoid 5F-EDMB-PICA in adolescent and adult male mice

Adolescents and young adults are using synthetic cannabinoids at increasing rates, and the use of synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) carries significant medical and psychiatric risks. Although studies have been conducted to preliminarily explore the pharmacological effects of the fourth-generation synthetic cannabinoid 5F-EDMB-PICA (ethyl 2-(1-(5-fluoropentyl)-1 H-indole-3-carboxamido)-3,3-dimethylbutyrate), there is still a lack of research addressing its deleterious effects in different age groups. We investigated the effects of 5F-EDMB-PICA on multiple aspects of emotional functioning, locomotor performance, and cognitive functioning in adolescent and young adult mice by determining the affinity of 5F-EDMB-PICA for cannabinoid receptors in conjunction with behavioral experiments and transcriptomic analyses. The results indicate that acute exposure to 5F-EDMB-PICA impairs anxiety, motor inhibition, and spatial navigation memory in adolescent and adult mice, and potential specific genes were identified in conjunction with hippocampal transcriptomics. This study establishes the molecular network of synthetic cannabinoid neurological harms, provides key gene expression profiles for subsequent in-depth analysis of the harm mechanisms, and also provides more data support for future control of cannabinoids.