Endocannabinoid System - Experimental Use of CB1 -/- Phenotype

Experimental Use of CB1 -/- Phenotype

Neuroscientists often utilize transgenic CB₁ knock-out mice to discern novel roles for the endocannabinoid system. While CB₁ knock-out mice are healthy and live into adulthood, there are significant differences between CB₁ knock-out and wild-type mice. When subjected to a high-fat diet, CB₁ knockout mice tend to be about sixty percent leaner and slightly less hungry than wildtype. Compared to wildtype, CB₁ knock-out mice exhibit severe deficits in motor learning, memory retrieval, and increased difficulty in completing the Morris water maze. There is also evidence indicating that these knockout animals have an increased incidence and severity of stroke and seizure (Parmentier et al., 2002; Marsicano et al., 2003).