RNA-sequencing in mice NAc after a sensitization protocol with combined cocaine plus caffeine and a CBD pre-treatment

Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotomimetic phytocannabinoid found in the Cannabis plant, has emerged as a potential therapeutic agent for psychostimulant use disorders. In recent work, we demonstrated that CBD is able to attenuate the expression of locomotor sensitization and the enhanced metabolic activity in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) generated by the combination of cocaine and caffeine. CDB interacts directly or indirectly with several molecular targets, so the underlying mechanisms of its beneficial effects are hard to determine. Here we used high-throughput RNA-sequencing in mice NAc after a sensitization protocol with combined cocaine plus caffeine and a CBD pre-treatment, to identify the major pathways and genes involved in CBD attenuating behavioral effects.