In addition to promotion of ethanol consumption, there is also evidence that endocannabinoids mediate the suppressive effects of stress on sexual behaviour. Stress is widely known to dampen sexual activity, a phenomenon that has been widely studied in the roughskin newt, Taricha granulosa, given the rapidity of onset and reliability of the effect (Rose and Moore, 1999). Using this model, it has been found that pharmacological blockade of the CB1 receptor can prevent the inhibitory effects of stress exposure on male courtship behaviour, indicating mediation through an induction of endocannabinoid signaling (Coddington et al., 2007). This finding also agrees with the general inhibitory effect CB1 receptor activation has been found to exert over male reproductive behaviours (Gorzalka et al., 2009). Collectively, these data provide the first experimental evidence to suggest that stress-induced mobilization of endocannabinoid signaling plays an important role in the regulation of neural, endocrine and behavioural responses to stress.
