Fig. 3.

Estradiol-mediated dendritic spine plasticity in the nucleus accumbens core depends on type 1 cannabinoid receptors. a Low power DiI-labeled nucleus accumbens medium spiny neuron, scale bar 50 μm. b High power dendritic segment from an NAc core medium spiny neuron, scale bar 5 μm. c In cocaine-treated females, estradiol treatment decreased dendritic spine density of medium spiny neurons in the NAc core, and this effect was attenuated by pretreatment with the cannabinoid type 1 receptor inverse agonist, AM251. Dendritic spine density in the NAc core of females treated with AM251 alone did not differ from estradiol or oil treatment alone. d Cumulative probability distribution plot of dendritic spine density within treatment groups for nucleus accumbens core highlights the effect of estradiol on dendritic spines. The number inside of each bar represents the number of animals per treatment condition. * p < 0.05 Veh+Oil vs Veh+E and Veh+E vs AM251+E