Combined use of alcohol and THC can affect rat brains: study links co-exposure to changes in working memory and prefrontal cortex plasticity

Alcohol and THC co-use can disrupt rat brain development, with the strongest effects seen in the prefrontal cortex. In young rats modeled after adolescence, researchers tested both voluntary co-consumption (THC-laced cookies plus an alcohol drink) and alcohol exposure with injected THC. They also assessed working memory during young adulthood using lever-based tasks after delay periods. The results suggest that co-exposure reduces the ability of prefrontal cortex circuits to undergo normal synaptic plasticity as adults. The study points to altered gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) signaling as a likely mechanism, noting that enhancing GABA signaling could rescue some observed plasticity deficits. Overall, the findings support the idea that adolescent drug exposure can lead to subtle but lasting cognitive and neural changes, and they motivate future treatment research to reverse such dysfunctions.