Effects of intra-infralimbic prefrontal cortex injections of cannabidiol in the modulation of emotional behaviors in rats: Contribution of 5HT1A receptors and stressful experiences

•CBD behavioral effects depend on previous stressful experience.•CBD intra-IL injection induces anxiogenic-like effects in the fear conditioning test.•CBD intra-IL injection promotes anxiolytic-like effects in the elevated plus maze.•The anxiolytic-like CBD effect disappeared when the animals were previously stressed.•Anxiolytic and anxiogenic CBD effects are blocked by a 5HT1A receptor antagonist. The infralimbic (IL) and prelimbic (PL) regions of the prefrontal cortex are involved in behavioral responses observed during defensive reactions. Intra-PL or IL injections of cannabidiol (CBD), a major non-psychotomimetic cannabinoid present in the Cannabis sativa plant, result in opposite behavioral effects in the contextual fear conditioning (CFC) paradigm. The intra-PL effects of CBD are mediated by 5HT1A receptors and depend on previous stressful experiences but the mechanisms and effects of intra-IL CBD injected are unknown. To this aim the present work verified the effects of intra-IL administration of CBD on two animal models of anxiety, the elevated plus maze (EPM) and CFC. We also investigated if these effects were mediated by 5HT1A receptors and depended on previous stressful experience. Male Wistar rats received bilateral microinjections of vehicle, WAY100635 (5HT1A receptor antagonist, 0.37nmol) and/or CBD (15, 30 or 60nmol) before being submitted to the behavioral tests. Intra-IL CBD induced anxiolytic and anxiogenic in the EPM and CFC, respectively. To verify if these effects are influenced by the previous stressful experience (footshocks) in the CFC model, we tested the animals in the EPM 24h after a 2-h restraint period. The anxiolytic-like effect of CBD in the EPM disappeared when the animals were previously stressed. Both responses, i.e., anxiolytic and anxiogenic, were prevented by WAY100635, indicating that they involve local 5HT1A-mediated neurotransmission. Together these results indicate that CBD effects in the IL depend on the nature of the animal model, being influenced by previous stressful experiences and mediated by facilitation of 5HT1A receptors-mediated neurotransmission.