INVOLVEMENT OF CANNABINOID SYSTEM ON ALCOHOL-RELATED BEHAVIOURS IN ADULT RAT: EFFECTS OF CRONIC EXPOSURE TO ?9-TETRAYDROCANNABINOL AND ETHANOL IN CRITICAL DEVELOPMENTAL PERIODS

Drug addiction is a chronic relapsing brain disorder, characterized by neurobiological changes leading to compulsive drug seeking and drug taking despite serious negative consequences, and by loss of control over drug use (Camà­ and Farrà©, 2003). Addiction includes complex behavioural and neurobiological processes. All the drugs of abuse produce reinforcing effects that are responsible for the initiation of their recreational use and of the addictive disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). However, other behavioural processes are also crucial for the maintenance of addiction, including the negative consequences of drug abstinence and the different stimuli leading to relapse (e.g. drug-associated cues, stressors and drug re-exposure) (Koob et al., 2004). Continued use of addictive substances induces adaptive changes in the central nervous system that lead to drug dependence, tolerance, sensitization, craving, and relapse (American Psychiatric Association, 2000)......