Experience Salience Gates Endocannabinoid Signaling at Hypothalamic Synapses

Alterations in synaptic endocannabinoid signaling are a widespread neurobiological consequence of many in vivo experiences, including stress. Here, we report that stressor salience is critical for bidirectionally modifying presynaptic CB-1 receptor (CB1R) function at hypothalamic GABA synapses controlling the neuroendocrine stress axis in male rats. While repetitive, predictable stressor exposure impairs presynaptic CB1R function, these changes are rapidly reversed upon exposure to a high salience experience such as novel stress or by manipulations that enhance neural activity levels in vivo or in vitro. Together these data demonstrate that experience salience, through alterations in afferent synaptic activity, induces rapid changes in endocannabinoid signaling.