◆ Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology2026-09-14
Endocannabinoid metabolism at VTA GABAergic neurons gates motivation for social, but not food, reward.
Carlos Medina-Saldivar, Carlos F Cardozo, Iness Gildish, Nana Baidoo, Ramesh Chandra, Miguel A Luján, Mary Kay Lobo, Marco Venniro, Joseph F Cheer
原始摘要（英文原文）· Original abstract
The endocannabinoid system functions as a gatekeeper of motivational processes. Here, we show that CRISPR-mediated inhibition of the degrading enzyme for the brain endocannabinoid, 2-AG, at ventral tegmental area GABAergic interneurons promotes social, but not food-maintained, operant responding. These results reveal a region-specific role for endocannabinoid signaling in social motivation.