Inserm has funded a joint research program between Olivier Manzoni, Ph.D., director of research at the Inserm Institut de Neurobiologie de la Méditerranée, and Ken Mackie, M.D., professor of psychological and brain sciences, Indiana University. Dr. Manzoni was a 1997 NIDA INVEST Fellow and the mentor for NIDA-Inserm Fellow Andrew Scheyer, Ph.D. Dr. Mackie has several NIDA grants investigating the cannabinoid system. The two have collaborated for several years—sharing resources, reagents, and techniques—and jointly authored peer-reviewed research articles. The French-U.S. team hopes to define new structural, molecular, and functional synaptic substrates of the sex-specific effects of adolescent cannabis use on behavior. They plan experiments to (1) characterize the normal development of the endogenous cannabinoid system (ECS) in the mesocortico-limbic system of male and female rodents; (2) establish the sex and age-specific molecular and anatomical substrates of ECS development and how they are affected by adolescent exposure to Δ9-THC; and (3) determine the sex-specific behavioral and synaptic consequences of THC exposure during critical periods of adolescence. In addition, the team plans student and postdoctoral research exchanges.
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