Chunk #18 — Results — Suppression of AEA/CB1 receptor signaling within the basolateral amygdala complex contributes to stress-induced activation of the HPA axis
As anticipated, restraint stress increased serum corticosterone levels [t (18) = 20.7, p < 0.001; Fig. 3]. To determine if the changes in amygdalar endocannabinoid content following stress were related to the magnitude of the HPA axis response, we examined the correlation between serum corticosterone concentrations and both AEA and 2-AG, under stress conditions. While amygdalar 2-AG tissue content did not exhibit a significant correlation with serum corticosterone (r = -0.18, p > 0.05; Fig. 3), amygdalar AEA content was significantly and negatively correlated with corticosterone levels (r = -0.72, p < 0.02; Fig. 3), indicating that higher levels of serum corticosterone following stress were associated with lower levels of AEA content within the amygdala.
