Antidepressant-like effect of cannabidiol injection into the ventral medial prefrontal cortex—Possible involvement of 5-HT1A and CB1 receptors

•CBD administration into the rat vmPFC, either into PL or IL, reduced the immobility time in the forced swimming test, an antidepressant-like effect.•The administration of 8-OH-DPAT, a 5-HT1A agonist, into PL or IL induced antidepressant-like effects similar to CBD.•CBD-induced antidepressant-like effects were blocked by local pretreatment with WAY100635, a 5-HT1A receptor antagonist. Systemic administration of cannabidiol (CBD), the main non-psychotomimetic constituent of Cannabis sativa, induces antidepressant-like effects. The mechanism of action of CBD is thought to involve the activation of 5-HT1A receptors and the modulation of endocannabinoid levels with subsequent CB1 activation. The brain regions involved in CBD-induced antidepressant-like effects remain unknown. The ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), which includes the infralimbic (IL) and prelimbic (PL) subregions, receives dense serotonergic innervation and plays a significant role in stress responses. To test the hypothesis that the administration of CBD into the IL or PL would induce an antidepressant-like effect through 5-HT1A and CB1 activation. Rats received intra-IL or -PL microinjections of CBD (10–60nmol/side), 8-OH-DPAT (5-HT1A agonist, 5–10nmol/side), anandamide (AEA, 0.5pmol/side) or vehicle (0.2μl/side) and were submitted to the forced swimming (FST) or to the open field (OFT) tests. Independent CBD-treated groups were pre-treated with WAY100635 (10, 30nmol/side, 5-HT1A antagonist) or AM251 (10pmol/side, CB1 antagonist) and submitted to the same tests. An additional group was treated with WAY100635 followed by anandamide. CBD (PL: 10–60 nmol; IL:45–60 nmol) and 8-OH-DPAT (10nmol) administration significantly reduced the immobility time in the FST, without changing locomotor activity in the OFT. WAY100635 (30nmol) did not induce effect per se but blocked CBD, 8-OH-DPAT and AEA effects. Additionally, AM251 blocked CBD-effects. administration of CBD into the vmPFC induces antidepressant-like effects possibly through indirect activation of CB1 and 5-HT1A receptors.