Histomorphological Aberrations Associated with Cannabis and Caffeine Exposure in the Hippocampus of Juvenile Wistar Rats

Abstract

Cannabis and caffeine are two psychoactive substances often abused. Cannabis is illegal in many countries, yet it constitutes a social menace as individuals still abuse the substance. Caffeine on the other hand is legal and used almost without restrictions in most countries. It is also important to note that adolescence is a critical period of neural and mental development; and the juvenile brain might be typically vulnerable to certain consequences of psychoactive agents use and abuse. Notably, most existing literatures have considered the effects of these substances on the adult and matured brain. The aim of this investigation, therefore, was to assess the effects of caffeine and cannabis use on the histomorphology of the hippocampus of juvenile Wistar rats. Seventy two Wistar rats of both sexes were divided into six groups named A-F. The Group A served as the Control. Group B were administered the higher dose of caffeine; Group C were administered the lower dosage of caffeine; Group D were administered the higher dosage of cannabis; Group E were administered the lower dosage of cannabis; Group F were administered caffeine and cannabis combined. Administration was done using suitable oral gavages and the animals were fed ad libitum. Animals were sacrificed by cervical dislocation after 21 days. The brain tissues were excised; fixed in formal saline and processed using the haematoxylin and eosin staining technique. Evaluation of the histoarchitecture of the hippocampal formation showed that caffeine and cannabis did not produce extensive disruption of the hippocampal; formation and might not be termed deleterious. However, especially at the high doses, they altered individual neurons morphologies and the spatial distribution of the cells in the Cornu Ammonis and dentate gyrus.